Butterscotch Christmas
by CandleHeadButt
Summary: Torvald Batterbutters has been given a game-changing opportunity; a reporter at Paper Boy! The young reporter finds that her new job is more than she could ever dream but for this holiday season she wants to do something SPECIAL. Who knew it could turn out so wrong.
1. An Apology

_I want to apologize._

 _When I started this job, it was a dream come true. Something I could only wish and hope for. For years, I have always wanted to do something for the arcade, to contribute something good. When it got out what had happened in our game those dreams seemed all but over but a friend of mine had faith in me. My FAMILY had faith in me and for the first time in a long time I felt that I could make that dream come true._

 _But then so many things happened. So many things that have hurt so many people during this holiday season. What started out as an idea to share Christmas cheer throughout the arcade got out of hand and maybe it is my fault. I only wanted to make people happy and because of this I allowed myself to be controlled but also scared. I thought I was stronger than that, to let this happen again but I was reminded just how vulnerable we can all be._

 _Because of this, I am resigning as a writer at this paper. I do not want to cause anyone else any more grief this Christmas but as one last sign of respect to all parties involved, I want to share with you the story. The story of what I really wanted to share._


	2. Chapter One- The Gift

Chapter One- The Gift

 _This all began with a gift. That's the funny thing about gifts. We all love them, we all want them but it takes a certain type of gift to reveal who we are on the inside._

"REALLY?!"

Torvald Batterbutter stood slacked jawed in front of Vanellope, the candy President grinning gleefully as she held a piece of paper before the butter-themed racer.

"Do ya need more proof? Do I need ta make a billboard of somethin' for ya?"

With shaking hands, the racer took the paper and looked upon the fine print on it.

" _With great joy, we welcome Torvald Batterbutters to the Paper Boy News team!"_

The signature was real, the words were real….

 **THIS WAS REAL!**

"WOW!" said Sticky "Tori's gonna be a reporter! A REAL reporter!"

"Heh, knew this book-worm could do it!" laughed Minty, giving her sisters a loving noggie.

"But-! But how?!" the amazed girl asked, looking back at Vanellope "I've-! I've put in for a spot on the team for so long! How did ya-?!"

"Let's just say I had a talk with Paper Boy." Vanellope smiled "I showed him some'a work an' he was impressed."

"Vanellope, NO!" Torvald gasped, letting the sheet slip from her hands "YOU had a talk with him?!"

"Um, is that a problem?"

"YES! Yes, it is!" the butter racer nodded frantically "If YOU talked ta him, that only means he let me on ta make YA happy! You're tha President here so-!"

"Tori, please! Don't get too crazy!" Vanellope said, trying her best to reassure the girl "I promise ya. P.B let ya on because he thought ya could write!"

"But I sent in samples before. Why of all times did he decide ta let me on NOW?!"

"I dunno, maybe there were backed up all these years." Said Vanellope, shrugging her shoulders "What I do know now though is that ya finally got a place girly! Don't let this slip through your fingers!"

A feeling of bashfulness went tgrough the girl, her knees knocking together. She knew she had wanted the job, she knew she had a massive love for reading and writing but now that it had come-

Nervousness. She was filled with so much NERVOUSNESS.

"Can I do it?" she meeped "C-Can I do this?"

"Doooh, I'm used ta seein' STICKY bein' so shy!" Minty said, rolling her eyes "Don't be scared Tori!"

"I KNOW ya can do this!" Sticky agreed, such fever coming from the middle triplet "You're gonna show 'em all how much of an ace reporter ya are! You're gonna knock 'em outta tha park!"

"This is NEW WRITIN', Stix. Not baseball…" Vanellope laughed "But yeah! I believe in ya, Tori."

"Ya….ya do?"

Torvald was still in disbelief at Vanellope's words. She did not need to be reminded of how she had partaken in the relentless bullying of the candy President for so many years so to see Vanellope being so kind, to her the girl telling her that she BELIEVED in her….

Her heart was a flutter.

"This is gonna be so wonderful!"

Torvald turned towards her little sister, Sticky smiling warmly as she always did.

"Think about it." The girl said "Mama an' papa did say you were the best when it came to words. If they were here?"

"They'd be so proud of ya…." Minty finished, putting her arm around Sticky as the two shared smiles.

Torvald could not fight back the lump in her throat from Minty's comment. The group had fought hard to bring forth the proof of their parents' existence some time ago and as their memories returned to them, so did the words of the Zaki parents. She could remember the smiles her parents would give her, their words and hugs. She had worried of what they would think about her behavior during Turbo's rule but to wonder what they'd think of her now, to have a boy at Paper Boy's newspaper.

It was the biggest honor she could think of.

"Th'nk you Vanellope!" the girl said as she hugged the vanilla racer, hopping over to hug her older sisters "An' thank ya."

"Awww, don't get THAT mushy with us." Minty chuckled, Sticky loving the warmth she was given "Maybe this way ya won't have so much time ta write those lame fan-fictions based on us!"

"It's not FAN FICTION! It's FRIEND FICTION!"

Torvald didn't think she could sleep that night as she thought about her time at the news desk. All she could think about was making headlines and passing out papers to the masses, giving them ground breaking stories of joy, sorrow, and excitement! She couldn't wait to go on assignments, interviewing new games and so much more!

This was going to be as exciting as racing!

 _Well, maybe not AS exciting…._

* * *

"Okay everyone, look sharp!"

Paper Boy stood before his reporters, all them a gaggle from his game and various others.

"We have a new member to join our staff." The man smiled, stepping away to show the girl "Everyone welcome, Miss Torvald Batterbutters from Sugar Rush!"

The crowd clapped and said their greetings, Torvald giving a sweet bow.

"Th'nk ya veyer much." The girl said, hoping she sounded mature "I've always loved the work you've guys have done here an' I'm gonna make it my MISSION ta keep things boomin'! I'll bring even MORE readers in an'-!"

"Hey, settle down kid." The game's protagonist said "Don't blow your brains out before you even get to writing."

The girl couldn't help it, letting out a delighted laugh as she hopped upon her toes "Oooh, I'm sorry sir! I just cannot wait!"

She stopped, reminding herself that a MATURE reporter never acted as such, brushing her skirt down.

"I mean-! Ahem, I want to keep the integrity of this paper and this game. I will do my best and beyond."

A tall character smirked over at Paper Boy "Looks like we got us a fresh one."

"Aw, c'mon Geist." Smiled Paper Boy "Don't tell me ya weren't this excited when ya joined the team."

"Hmmm, ya got me there." The character chuckled to himself warmly "There's just that feelin', isn't it?"

"Well, once we get your place organized we'll give you an assignment." Said Paper Boy "Since you're on the starting roster, you have to do a short assignment first. Something to get your feet wet."

"Of course!" the girl said "Any assignment, so long as I can write, is good enough for me!"

A twinkle went off in the girl's eye, her feet spinning her around.

"AH! An' before I forget-!" she said, reaching for a massive box on the desk "I brought hot butterscotch rolls!"

At the very mention of FOOD the office took notice, the Sugar Rush confections shining like gems as they were presented before them.

"Fresh from the Candlewick Café an' your friends at Sugar Rush!" the girl smiled "Still nice n' hot!"

"Say, boss." Said a female reporter, taking one of the massive rolls in her hands gleefully "Think ya can hire any more of these kids? Ya won't hear anyone complain about tha lack of snacks here if ya do."

The lead smiled, placing a hand on Torvald's head.

"Tori?"

"Yeah, sir?"

"You're gonna fit in just fine."


	3. Chapter Two- Rambunctious Reporter

Chapter Two- Rambunctious Reporter

 _Paper Boy was such a welcoming game, a welcoming job. I knew I was going to fit right in, even if my tasks were small at the time. I only want to make good on my promise not only to Paper Boy but so many others. I did not want to let my sisters down, I did not want to let Vanellope down. My friends, Sugar Rush? I felt as if they were all counting on me to represent the sweetest and the best but most of all, I could remember my parents. Even if they are not hear, even if they only exist in memories from stories which came before I felt as if they were there watching me as well. I wanted to see them smile, to make them proud and when this all began, I felt just that._

 _I felt a strange happiness about me as if my parents were there, reading and watching everything I did and it didn't matter if the jobs I were given were small. They were proud either way._

 _And it made me so happy._

 _I felt like I was doing so much more! Racing and a reporter? It was the best! And as time went on, things got even better but as we all know doing things in such a pattern can make the mind wander and wander my mind did. The job was not growing boring but over time I felt as if I needed to do something more._

As Paper Boy had said, they were just small jobs but the girl loved them none the less, especially with how busy it kept her. Some days she would proofread while others she had to spend time looking through archives for another writers. Some days she would spend time talking with the other reporters as they reorganized things. Sure, her jobs were not large, YET, but she was still having fun.

Nonetheless….

She wanted to do more.

Slowly but surely the days turned to weeks, the weeks into months and before the girl knew it Summer had turned into Fall and Fall was creeping into those colder days. She had done her article for Halloween, a piece for Thanksgiving but once the autumn feast were over….

"It's Christmas time…" the girl said to herself, walking down the station as her mind ticked away "An' I feel like somethin' is missin'."

She looked up through the massive center, the entire arcade being decked from floor to ceiling with decorations and seasonal music pumped through the sound system. It had really put Torvald in the mood but for the life of her she could not figure out what was missing.

She didn't feel bored at her job but there was just something she could not place that felt vacant.

"Do I need more snacks?" she thought to herself, the taste of cinnamon rolls coming to her oddly enough "Dress more for the season? What am I missin'? Besides snacks of course."

CINNAMON ROOOOLLS!

She thought, and thought and thought; surely an idea would pop into her head! She couldn't just let a story slip through her fingers!

"AH!" the girl said, jumping up on her feet in excitement! Then answer was looking her right in the face, from above, from the side, and below!

"Duh! Don't trip, Tori! The answer is right here!"

The girl took off for Paper Boy, grinning from ear to ear.

* * *

"Letters for the Season?"

"Yeah!" Torvald said in excitement "Think about it, P.B! This is tha PERFECT time'a year for people ta say what brings 'em in tha holiday mood! No matter tha character, no matter tha game! It would be a COLOSSAL way ta share what brings us all together! Doesn't that sound great?"

"Yes, it does….but…."

Torvald felt her heart deflate; _**BUT.**_

 _ **BUT**_ was a big word.

"Hmmm, we have so many pieces planned for the paper. We'll have to make room and that will take time."

The girl wasn't ready to give up her plans yet, nodding "I understand that, sir. I understand!"

"Don't get me wrong kid, I don't think it's a bad idea at all but-!"

"Formatting?" Torvald said, hands placed on her hips as she watched the paper boy nod his head.

"FORMATTING." He sighed "Ya wouldn't think something like that would be such a headache but…well…"

"Don't worry, I understand!" the girl said, not giving up hope "Please though, keep it in mind. It would be perfect for Christmas!"

"Hey, I never said it COULDN'T be done. Just that it's gonna take some talk to get things reorganized with some of the others here."

"Okay." Torvald said, her voice sounding quiet "Hopefully things will work out."

The little racer left the room, feeling a little upset but not defeated. She returned to her little cubby, noticing a package on her desk.

"Hey, who left this?"

"Oh, I think it was your sisters." Said the racer's cubby neighbor "I mean…they are your sisters, right? The green one that's always knocking things over and the blue one that talks about bugs all the time?"

Minty and Sticky. Of course.

Torvald blinked as she looked at the package, noticing the little tag on it.

 **OKAY TO OPEN BEFORE CHRISTMAS.**

Off came the paper, the butter racer greeted with the sweet smell of candy and a beautifully decorated book inside.

 _Hey stupid, this is for you._

 _We know you have the new job so we figured we give you this album to put all your favorite stories in. Just don't put anything in this that's bad about ME, okay?_

 _Love_

 _Minty and Sticky_

 _PS from Sticky- I don't think you're stupid._

 _PSS from Minty- I do think you're a fart head._

 _PSSS from Sticky- Minty is a stupid fart head._

 _PSSSS from Minty- NO I'M NOT!_

 _PSSSSS from Sticky- YES YOU ARE!_

 _PSSSSSS from Minty- NO IM SIFOHKDJFHKDGHKDFKURHUIGFFG_

"Oh, those guys….." Torvald laughed to herself but she once more thought about what Paper Boy had told her.

She worried if her idea would be shot down and even if he were being nice, what if there were another reason as to why? She shivered, thinking back to all those stories and rumors that had been passed around when Vanellope returned. It had hurt her, among the other racers, when so many in the arcade had turned their backs on them but…

But there were others. Others who had not given up on them nor thought them as merely bullies and brainless pawns to Turbo.

Paper Boy had shown kindness to Torvald, letting her work with him and others as she was the youngest reporter on the staff so there had to be some hope.

 _Still though…._

"Even if I don't have the go-ahead now…." The girl thought to herself "That doesn't mean I have to waste the moments! I can get some stories now and save 'em up for later!"

Her mind was made! Grabbing her reporter's kit, a sticker clad composition book, pastel pens and a wonderfully nifty camera provided by Cousin Sakura, Torvald took off.

"Hey! Hey kid!" said the female reporter as she watched the girl take off "Um….if I gave ya ten bucks could ya get me some more Sugar Rush rolls?"


	4. Chapter Three- Christmas Tales

Chapter Three- Christmas Tales

 _I had given myself an assignment, one that at the time I didn't think twice from concealing from Paper Boy. I thought what I was going to do was help, that I would take so much unneeded work off of P.B. but had I known what was going to happen, perhaps I would have held back. Perhaps I would have thought twice. All I knew, all I could FEEL, was that it was Christmas time and I wanted to bring the entire station joy._

 _I just never thought that joy could turn into calamity, especially when all things started so calmly._

The temperature in the station was warm, the complete opposite one would think for Christmas and it only made the girl think about what winter clothing she could dress in.

"Then that way I could be in the holiday spirit, twenty percent more!" she assured herself, giggling.

Keep focused, girly. Time to be a reporter!

"Excuse me." The girl said as she stopped a soccer player as he made his way across the station "Can I have a moment of your time-?"

"Sorry, I'm not ready to change religions."

The girl looked up in confusion, tilting her head to the side "…. **WHAT?** "

Before Torvald could even consider what she had been told the man disappeared.

"Okay, maybe ONE got away but there are many, MANY others!"

A cat-boy came her way.

He dashed off when he saw a dog character.

Then came the mermaid, pulled in a bowl by her starfish helpers.

Something about getting her tail scales rebuffed.

Then the pilot.

Then the mushroom hunter.

Then the monster twins.

"Awwwwwwww, _**MAN!**_ " the girl cried out "Is NO ONE in the holiday mood this time of year?"

She stomped over to a nearby bench, huffing and grunting as she sat down in a GRUMP.

" _Phooey, louie, pooie! Never stopped to say hello or anythin' nice!"_

"I hear ya kid…."

Torvald turned around quickly, a child-like character her age lounging on the bench, her metallic arms holding onto a cigar which she took a drag from, puffing out smoke rings.

"Hate slow days too!" The 'kid' character said, the peacock-like eyes on her arms looking DIRECTLY at Torvald.

The butterscotch racer smiled nervously….and ran off as fast as she could.

"Hmmph…" the character chuckled, taking another drag from her cigar "Kid characters these days. Just ain't got tha pluck in 'em!"

Well, THAT was weird!

"Maybe this is why P.B was so- So-!"

The girl shook her head in frustration, stamping her foot on the ground.

"Oh, there has ta be SOMEONE in this massive place that wants ta talk ta me!" she shouted "Ya can not tell me that not a single person cares about Christmas! Do I have ta reprogram everyone to THINK about Christmas in order ta get a story?!"

" _Ouch, ouch, OOOOOOw….."_

The girl turned, hearing a rather familiar tone of voice coming out of Street Fighter. To her surprise the voice belonged to a TINY figure, not that of a large fighter.

" _Oooh, that's what I get for thinking that would be as easy as PIE."_

"NICELANDER MARY?!"

The pink Nicelander nearly jumped a foot in the air, her head turning in all directions to find out who had called her.

"H-Huh?! How-?!"

"Over here!"

Torvald waved to the little woman, rushing up with lights in her eyes and a determined smile on her face, leaving the Nicelander still as if she had been spotted by a hungry lion.

"MISS MARY!"

Torvald came to a sharp stop, her hands CLUTCHING the plump woman by her arms, nearly knocking both characters to the ground.

" _ **CAN I TALK TA YA?!"**_

A few moments later, the two found themselves in SUGAR RUSH of all places, both sitting in stools at the Candlewick Café. Candlehead was of course busy in the kitchen, humming and twirling about at the new customers in her store.

"La la la laaaaa!" she sang, wondering what delights she would make "Ooooh, I love it when tha others rope in customers for me!"

One could only wonder just what creators the racer had in store to thrust upon any visitors.

"This is what I get for being clumsy…." Mary sighed, her wrapping her little fingers in bandages.

"Um, C-Butt can get ya a Sweet Heal ta fix all'a those…" Torvald said, a little worried as to WHY Mary's hand was so cut up and red "Ya won't hafta deal with those cuts."

"Don't mind me, dearier. This is all the results of untalented hands."

"Untalented hands?"

Torvald took another look at the Nicelanders; she seemed so peeved, bothered, VERY unlike her usual chipper and bright self. Aside from the splinters and cuts on her fingers, Torvald spied a few droplets of what appeared to be PAINT on her clothing and face. Spying the tiny details, the girl's head went into full speed to figure out what they were.

"Oh, dear…." Nicelander Mary sighed, leaning on the counter of the booth "Still so much to go."

"Um, ma'am?"

Mary turned, noticing the curious look the little racer was giving her.

"Oh. Oh, I'm sorry dear. You've been so hospitable bringing me here and giving me all of this. I didn't mean to ignore you."

"Heh, don't worry about it. I mean you look so worried."

There was a bit of a pause, Mary looking off to the side and blushing.

"Is everything alright?"

Mary twitched, bringing her bandaged fingers together as she continued to look down "Y-yes, yes. Things are alright….but….."

Torvald licked her lips; she had never been on an investigative report like this and she wanted to know just what the little woman was thinking.

"Oh, froo it all!" Mary pouted, puffs of pixelated clouds popping over her head "I guess I'm just trying too hard to get things perfect!"

The racer moved back a bit, the woman's tone harsh.

"I know I shouldn't be this upset, it's CHRISTMAS!" the Nicelander said, going off without thought "The last thing I should be worried about is trying to get too materialistic with a gift but-!"

She stopped, shaking her head but then a smile began to appear. Torvald paid close attention, wondering what could have made the woman change her mood so quickly.

"I'm just being silly…" Mary said "Look at me acting like such a child. To make a certain Blueberry happy."

Blueberry.

Torvald knew that code-word.

"I should get going." Mary said as she hopped off the tall stool, heading for the door "But I want to thank you again for helping me. I DO feel a lot better and-!"

"Miss Mary, wait!"

"Yes?"

Be brave, Tori!

"Ma'am, there's a reason I brought ya here."

"Oh, and what would that be, young lady?"

"I'm…." the girl began, feeling so bashful for some reason "I wanted to record some stories for Christmas. Ya know, about sharing gifts an' all that good stuff. I just felt that in this time of year, people needed somethin' good ta listen to so they didn't feel all bothered an' stuff."

Mary looked at the girl, a little confused by her words "Really? And what do I have to do with this?"

"If there is anyone in this arcade who always has such warm, ooey-gooey tales…it's you."

Once more Mary felt her cheeks blushing, surprised to hear such a thing from the girl. It wasn't as if she were PERFECT and as the entire arcade knew, INNOCENT in her record.

"But-?"

"I mean, ya don't HAFTA do this if ya don't want to…." The racer said "It's just that I've been turned down since I started today and-!"

"You've been turned down?" Mary said in surprise "Not a SINGLE person would take the time to talk to you?"

The girl shook her head, the Nicelander crossing her arms.

"Well, if that isn't a fly in the pie! The nerve of them all! Not stopping for a moment to share one iota of Christmas cheer!"

Mary marched back to the girl, hopping right onto the cushion of the chair.

"Young lady, if you want a Christmas story I shall give you one!"

"Really?" the girl said, her eyes bright. Mary nodded before placing a finger to her lips.

"But you have to promise me one thing."

"Anything, ma'am!"

"Many of the details I am about to give? They have to remain a secret until Christmas! Oh, some of the things you can tell the whole arcade, I do not mind. But the rest-?"

Torvald nodded again, her heart racing.

" _This is between you and I."_

Torvald felt as if she had flown out of the arcade all the way to the moon. Never in her life had she felt such responsibility to handle a story like this and even if Mary had given her the okay to share some of it she knew it was only her duty to keep her end of the deal for the little Nicelander.

" _Miss Mary? Ya have my word!"_

Torvald then looked back towards the kitchen.

"Hey, C-Butt! Two triple whipped hot cocos an' two slices of your gingerbread brownie cake!"

In a flash the candle-headed racer arrived, placing the treats before the two characters before waving a friendly hand.

"Gotta dash! Have so many orders ta fill!"

Torvald knew that they would be kept in private for a while, nothing able to break Candlehead's concentration in cooking.

"Now Miss Mary. Let's begin."


	5. Chapter Four- Proofread

Chapter Four – Proofread

 _My mission had been completed. I had gotten the story I wanted and was ready to present it to Paper Boy. For all I knew, for all I FELT, this was going to be it. This was going to be the story that would show everyone how much of an reporter I was but also the story to set this Christmas apart from others._

 _Maybe it was selfishness inside of me but I wanted people to read this, I wanted them to recognize who put these words on paper. I wanted them to feel as good I as I had felt getting the information, writing the story down and to see and smell the ink being printed on paper. The only thing I could think about were the congratulations I could get, how people would be singing my name for delivering tidings at this time of the year._

 _I just wanted Christmas to be special and I wanted to be apart of it._

 _I never wanted things to get so crazy but in my joy, in my excitement, I got careless. I got careless by thinking that everyone's intentions were the same as mine._

 _I know I should not speak so negatively this time of year; I do not WANT to. But even as good as one might feel during Christmas there are those who do not and WILL not share the spirit or perhaps their ideas of holiday joy come in a format that do not match your own. I just know I let my guard down and lost sight of what I should have been keeping my focus on._

"Ooooh, I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait!"

Torvald had spent the previous night with her interviewee and even more time making certain her story was PERFECT. She kept in all the sweetness but made certain to leave out just enough so a certain PARTY would not know of the happenings around them. She fingers were going at high speed on the keyboard, going over line after line to make sure it was PERFECT.

The only thing she had to do now was show Paper Boy.

"He's gonna LOVE this!" the girl said to herself, taking her candy drive from the computer and shoving it into her bag "EVERYONE is gonna love this!"

Torvald rushed out the front door of the Zaki Inn, nearly bowling over a few candy people in the process.

"Yo, what's the rush Tori?" asked Minty.

"What's the rush?" the butter racer smiled, looking back for a moment before getting into her kart "News can not wait, Minty!"

The girl took off, leaving her older sisters and the candy staff more than a might perplexed.

"Think all this news guff is goin' ta her head?" the eldest of the triplets asked. Sticky just smiled, feeling such brightness within her.

"Oh, Minty! Don't be mad! Tori's just doin' what she does best!"

In no time Torvald had arrived at Paper Boy's, her feet not stopping as she ran towards the office.

"I hope he's in, I hope he's in!" she said to herself, her hands pressed against her purse where the drive. She turned down the twisting hallways, jumping and leaping out of the way of others AND-!

CLOSED.

"Oh, no!"

Torvald had arrived at a closed office, a sign posted 'Sorry, at dinner. Be back soon!'

"Oooooh, darn it!" the girl said, kicking the floor "I knew I shudda just breezed through that intersection! I could have dodge those pedestrians, for sure!"

She gazed at the clock; Paper Boy didn't put what time he would come back, making the girl all the more nervous.

"Maybe if I slide the drive under the door?" she thought, shaking her head "No, he could step on it or someone could sweep it up. That would be a BAD thing!"

The girl chose to wait, sitting in one of the chairs outside of the main head's office but as the clocked ticked loudly by…

 _TICK TOCK_

 _TICK TOCK_

…

 _ **TOCK!**_

" _Snrrrrrrrrrrrk-"_

Torvald had fallen fast asleep, her body slumped in the chair.

" _Uuurgh! No, Minty! I don't want to play spit in the river! That's gross!"_

"Hello."

"SNRK!"

The girl awoke, yawn and stretching.

"Mmm, what?"

"Well, either you wanted to be SUPER earlier or you're trying to catch up on some late-night work."

The girl looked up, seeing a familiar face before her.

"Oh! Geist!"

GEIST.

Such a character.

Torvald had run into Geist many-a times during her work at the paper and she knew that the character had made his way to the TOP. She may not have said it out loud but there was a part of her that envied the position that Geist had made his way towards, granted the character had been around much longer than her, the ghostly hunter being a part of the Paper Boy press team for many-a years. He seemed so care-free, so relaxed in his own work and the others had their respect for him so for and as much as Torvald knew, his intentions were always good, even if he acted smarmy about certain things.

But one has to remember, never judge a character so quickly.

It could be a QUIRK, after all.

The girl smiled at her co-worker "Hello, sir! I'm actually glad you came by!"

"Heh, something I always love to hear."

"Paper Boy hasn't been by, has he?"

"No, he's still held up back at home…" the older reporter said "Somethin' 'bout helping his mom with Christmassy stuff. You know all that bunk."

"Oh, I guess I HAVE missed him." The little racer said, her head going down.

"What's the matter, kiddo?"

"I just wanted to give him an article I wrote…." The girl said, reaching into her purse and pulling out the candy-shaped thumbdrive "I know he told me to wait, but I just HAD to write it! Plus, it would take a lot of stress offa him if-!"

"A story, eh?" Geist said as he took the drive from the girl's hold "What kinda story we're talkin' about?"

"Oooh, ya wanna know?" Torvald smiled, happy to see that someone else was interested in her work.

"Sure, run it by me."

"I gave P.B. an idea, somethin' for Christmas!" the girl began "I wanted to interview people throughout the arcade, asking them what Christmas or any other holiday meant to them!"

"An' what did Ol' P.B. say to that?"

"Well, he liked the idea….SORTA." Torvald continued "He said it was good n' plenty but because of how he would have to reformat a bunch'a stuff he an' everyone else had planned I guess, he didn't know if he'd be able to fit it in on time. I just figured that if I went ahead and prepped some stories for him, IF he said yes wouldn't hafta work as hard! Give him a bit of a break, ya know!"

"Wow, you're a real busy bee." Geist said, his eyes still on the girl.

"It wasn't easy though! I tried ta get some people to stop n' talk but in the end, I only got to interview Nicelander Mary."

Geist was surprised, the man arching his brow "All that work an' you only got a NICELANDER?"

"But the story is so good!" Torvald said, her arms going out "It's about how she wants to return a present to-!"

"Heh, it must be cute." Geist broke in "An' I don't fault someone like ya to gravitate towards a tale like that."

"Someone like ME?" Torvald asked, a little suspicious.

"Yeah, I mean. All ya candy-people. That's your think right?"

"Ummmm…..I…..I guess?"

Torvald was confused; what had Geist meant by those words?

"It's sweet…" the man said "It's sweet an' gooey."

"Ya can read the whole thing…." Torvald said, turning towards the workspace area "Lemme just plug this in an' I'll bring up tha whole thing!"

It didn't take long for Torvald and Geist to sit in front of a computer, the man going over every line of text in the story.

"So what do ya think?"

"Heh….it's just as a I thought before." Geist said again "Sweet n' gooey."

"Thank….thank you?"

"But-."

There was that word again; BUT.

"But I feel there is somethin' missin' from it."

"If there is, I can fix it!" Torvald said, not wanting to disappoint "What does it need? More formatting? Better word usage? Oh, do I need to take PICTURES because I know THAT can really grab the eye!"

"It needs more….BITE."

"Bite?" said the confused girl "What kinda bite?"

"The HARD kind!" said Geist, his hands out "An' not tha bite ya use ta chomp on all'a those candies an' cakes back in your game. I mean REAL bite! Bite that's gonna bring everyone ta tha story!"

"That….DOES sound good." Torvald said "But I wanna keep in tha mood of tha season. Plus I don't wanna do somethin' so outlandish that-!"

"Hey, kid lemme give ya some advice." The character said, putting his arm around Torvald's shoulders "Ya Sugar Rushians. Ya got tha energy but ya can be a bit SOFT with your words."

Torvald felt a shiver "Soft in our words?"

"No offense kid, but we live in a new day n' age an' not everyone here is gonna eat up your marshmallowly words like just any soft-hearted NPC, ya know."

"What are you saying?" the girl said "That only NPCs would like my work?"

"Hey, don't take that as a bad thing. NPCs gotta have their words too, I guess." The character continued "But there are different levels for different character types. Now I know I said you're sweet but somethin' tells me you're holdin' yourself back."

"How so?"

"Ya grew up in a sugary game an' you've sugarfied your words ta meet that but inside? Inside I can tell is beatin' tha heart of a REAL REPORTER! Somethin' ta match tha RACER inside of ya!"

The girl blushed, brown cheeks turning red "O-Oh, wow! Thanks for thinkin' so but-!"

"People aren't gonna just wanna read some story 'bout a Nicelander givin' gifts." The character said "They'll fall asleep at the pages. Snooooore!"

"But….but I thought it was a good story." The racer said "An' it fit the mood for what I was tryin' ta aim for!"

"I get that. Ya wanna spread some holiday cheer but if ya ask me-?"

The character moved closer, making certain that his words were hushed.

" _Ya got the basis down, but it just needs more SPICE."_

"What kinda spice?"

"More PIZZAZZ and POW! More BANG to get them really readin'! To get them to buy paper after paper! To ask for _**YOUR**_ name!"

Torvald could only imagine it; being such a renown reporter in LItwak's! Sugar Rush would praise her name, EVERY game would praise her name!

She would be the top reporter AND racer to boot!

Geist's words were getting to her, the girl feeling more and more excited but she also remembered her promise. She had to keep certain things hidden for the time being as there were important things going on. She couldn't just spoil the story to everyone.

But what of the attention she could bring the newspaper? Paper Boy would be so proud!

"Hmm, I like what you're sayin'." The girl said "I really do!"

"Hehe, that's tha spirit."

Torvald leapt off the chair and stood tall in the office "Yeah. YEAH! I see what ya mean 'bout addin' some SPICE ta a story! It needs it an' I know how ta add it! An' this is just ONE story! We still have time before Christmas an' before then I'll give this place a look into the world Torvald Batterbutter can create an'-!"

"Hang on for a sec, sweet stuff!" the man laughed "Don't worry 'bout a thing, _**TAR**_ vold. Lemme handle this."

"But I want to write this story! If I made EVERYONE do my work for me, it wouldn't be so much of an assignment! Plus, I wouldn't be doin' the work I promised!"

"Promise?"

"Yes." The girl nodded "If ya read tha tale, you'll notice some things are still kept hidden an' that's because the person who is gonna read this has a BIG surprise comin' for him. A big, big, BIG one!"

"Hmmmm, I can only guess."

"So please understand…" the girl said "I wanna handle this on my own. It has to have that special touch."

"I get that kid, an' that's really HEROIC of ya."

Heroic?

Did Geist suggest that Torvald was a…HERO?

A GOOD GUY?

"But like ya said, P.B hasn't gotten back to ya on that approval."

"Well, no. I guess you're right about that."

"But I can get it done."

Torvald looked up, her eyes wide in shock.

"I have seniority here." Geist went on, thumbing over to himself "Which means I can get inta places others can't, get info that others would never even think of an' most of all-?"

Torvald's eyes grew so big they looked as if they were going to POP from her skull.

"I can convince P.B otherwise ta get this story of yours printed."

"You….YOU CAN?!"

"Yup." The man nodded "I mean, it's gonna take a lot of string pullin' but-!"

"OOOOOOH! THANK YA, THANK YA!" the racer cheered, not realizing how loud she was "THANK YA SO MUCH, GEIST!"

"Of course." He smiled "But-"

One more BUT.

"We still need to work on a few things. Get it to that level that will REALLY send tha arcade into a twirl."

"Just give me the word, an' I will correct it!" said the racer, cracking her knuckles "I am ready to-!"

"Ya don't have to worry 'bout a thing."

"Huh?"

"Consider this a CHRISTMAS GIFT from me." The character smiled "I'll give your work the punch it needed for THIS headline an' then ya can see what I did an' follow it!"

"But….but this doesn't seem right." Torvald said in worry "I mean, you're doin' MY work. If P.B finds out-"

"If PB does find out, I'll just tell him I was mentonrin' ya. You're still a greenhorn ta this an' this would be your first big headline, wouldn't it?"

"Headline? I don't know if it could be considered a HEADLINE. An' I've written small things here n' there so-"

"Oh trust me. This IS gonna be a headline."

"Weeeeeell, if it's okay with ya."

"Heh, not a prob at ALL! I love writin' stories like this!" Geist smiled, as he went to his cubby "Just….just go ahead an' interview some more folks! You'll be ready to write once this is over!"

"Gee, thanks!" the little racer said as she rushed towards the door but she turned around, smiling sweetly as ever "An' Merry Christmas!"

"Merry X-Mas ta ya, kid." Geist smiled, watching Torvald leave and turning his head back towards the screen "Merry X-MAS ta ya…."

With one click of the mouse….

The entire screen went blank.


	6. Chapter Five- Black and White

Chapter Five – Black and White and Pixelated All Over

 _To think, soon my first big story would be printed! You can imagine just how excited I was, how happy, and how certain that this would be the story to bring EVERYONE together. But now I had two promises to keep. One to a woman who trusted me that someone she loved would dearly would only receive his surprise later and now another at my own work. I did not want to let anyone down and I was confident that I had made the right choice._

 _I had only wanted to give everyone what they wanted, to keep things going strong at the papers. I did not want to be the one to bring down integrity, to be seen as weak as I was among many stronger characters, both in strength and in reputation. I knew I had a lot of work I still had to do in order to cement myself as a reputable reporter, one who had earned their respect._

 _I thought this was heading in the right direction. I thought I had done the right thing._

Niceland was in the full Christmas mode as Nicelander and residences from all over went about decorating each and every apartment.

"Tha place has never been so EXCITING!" Felix said in glee, wrapping some garland around the awning of the apartment, the Nicelanders going about as they stuck candy-cane decorations down the path.

"Don't go into a FRENZY, Brother." Laughed Ralph, taking the smaller man by his collar "'Member what happened when ya decorated this place for VALENTINE'S DAY? The red n' pink didn't come off for MONTHS! Funny bein' tha day takes place in tha SHORTEST month of tha year!"

"Ooooh, I can't help it Ralph!" the smaller man laughed, freeing himself as be bounced about "This is my FAVORITE time of tha year! Trees, holly, cookies, pies-!"

"Mary?"

The man stopped, seeing a little worried figure coming from the apartment, his mustache and blue cardigan hard to miss.

"Genie?"

Mayor Gene looked about, hands rubbing together in worry.

"Everyday." The man said "Everyday around this time, she disappears. No sooner than I come back from cleaning up, she's gone."

"Who?" asked Ralph.

"MARY!" the little man blustered out, pixelated sweat drops over his head "She leaves for hours and when she comes back?! 'Oh, tee-hee! It's nothing dear! Stop looking at me like that, Silly Head!'"

"Oh, Gene. Don't put up a fuss." Ralph snorted, rolling his eyes "Ya know Mary can take care of herself if that's what you're worried about?"

"She comes home with nicks and cuts on her hands."

"Excuse me?" Felix said, suddenly gaining interest. Gene mimicked the movement of removing gloves, so much worry for his beloved wife flooding his mind.

"Her hands have never been in such a state…." He continued "It's almost as if she's been FIGHTING with someone. And if so….WHY!? And with WHO?!"

"Uh, Felix?" Ralph said as he looked down at his friend, the Repairman looking worried himself "Ya got an answer for this?"

"That…that does sound odd." Felix replied "But if it's not bothering her-?"

"This can't go unanswered, young man!" Gene said, pacing around frantically "What if-?! What if someone is HURTING her again?! And they have her so paranoid that she's too scared to speak up?! Oh PROGRAMMERS, we could have another TURBO issue happenin' but-!"

"Gene!" Ralph gasped, EXHAUSTED by how fast the man was going that he reached down and picked him up "Coconuts man! The only person who is paranoid here is YOU!"

"If someone _**YOU**_ loved came home looking as if they've had their hands beaten by wooden boards-!" Gene said, looking angrily towards the big man "Don't you think YOU'D be worried too?!"

Ralph had to admit that Gene was right. If someone where hurting Vanellope, if someone were hurting ANY of his friends, he would feel the need to find out why. Even thinking about a larger character going after Mary made the Wrecker's train of thought turn, this thoughts going to who could even do such a terrible thing.

"Look, Genie I don't want ya ta worry." The Wrecker said, placing the Mayor back on the ground.

" _ **HOW CAN I NOT?!"**_

"Stay calm, Big Guy. Stay calm." Ralph reassured "If somethin' is happenin', we'll take care of it. Tha last thing we need is somethin' ta trigger ya back inta Genezilla. How is THAT gonna look for tha holidays?"

"I dunno, Ralph." Lucy said as she swaggered her way between the men, carrying a plastic Gingerbread man "If Gene goes back ta his _**EXTRA-JUMBO-FAMILY-SIZE**_ we could SUUUUURE use his help ta get things decorated faster!"

"OOOOOOOH, YOU!" Gene said as he took the girl by her shoulders and shoved her away "Go back to helping would you?! And no slacking off!"

"BUT GENE! I CAN'T TOUCH THIS!" the girl cried out, dropping the gingerbread man "My Jewishness forbids me! _**AUUUUURGH! IT BURNS! WHY HAVE YOU FORCED ME TO DO THIS, YOU MONSTER!"**_

Tony looked at his sister rolling on the ground, the young Nicelander looking back at the others with a look of complete helplessness about him.

 **WHY**?

"Eh-heeeeh…." Felix breathed out, rubbing the back of his neck "A-anyway, Genie! I'm sure Mary's just fine! Ya know how busy she gets during tha holidays."

The little man looked down, twiddling his fingers "I just wish she would tell me. I wanna help her."

"Uh-oh! He's goin' full mousy mode!" Ralph laughed "ALERT! ALERT!"

Gene snapped from his bashfulness but it did nothing to blow away the blush that was now SPREADING throughout his entire body.

"RALPH! I SWEAR TO PROGRAMERS-!"

"Gene, Gene, GENE!" Ralph laughed, pushing the little man over to the steps of the apartment, sitting him down "Look buddy, I get that you're worried about Mary. Ya love her, we all know that."

"But-!"

"BUUUUUUUT-." The man said, sitting next to the Mayor "But this ain't tha time ta go about like you're some chicken with your pixels cut off. You're concerned, we get that but like I said, Mary's a strong girl! She can take care of herself an' with tha way she's been teasin' ya 'bout all'a this-!"

Gene blushed again, caught in the truth of the matter.

"Somethin' tells me tha reason she's bein' so hushed is because she has somethin' GOOD planned."

"S-Somethin'-?"

Gene cleared his throat, his poshness lost for a moment.

"SOMETHING good?" he managed to say, his voice still shaking. Felix smiled, sitting on the opposite side of the man.

"Yeah! Each year she always has somethin' big an' special for ya so can ya imagine what it must be THIS year?"

The Mayor of Niceland still felt terrible, still felt nervous; he just couldn't believe either men, especially after what he was so used to happening.

"Doooooh, is there any way ta fix a antsy Nicelander?" Ralph laughed, Gene frowning again.

"L-Look! I-I-I-I-I get it! M-m-m-m-maybe I AM too nervous!"

"You're shakin' like a bowl full'a jelly, Genie!" the Wrecker smirked again, poking Gene in his belly "I'm only used ta THIS area shakin' like that, specially THIS time'a year!"

" _ **RALPH!"**_

"Okay, stop messin' with him." Felix stepped in, pulling Gene away "There is a good explanation for this, I know there is. Ya just gotta keep a good head 'bout this, Gene. Ya can't think so badly of everythin'. Ya remember your promise."

"I do, I do…." The man breathed out "I was goin' so well on it too. I just…."

Hero and Bad-Guy looked at the little NPC, Gene taking another deep breath.

"I just don't want her to get hurt, especially because of ME." The man said "She does so much, every day of the year and there is no way in the code void I can ever repay her back."

"You've done more than enough." Ralph smiled sincerely "You're tha best husband she could ever ask for."

"AM I, Ralph?"

"Ya treat that woman like she's tha queen of tha arcade!" the Wrecker said in a powerful voice.

"She's always tellin' Tammy n' me how she's never been so entertainted!"

"Wait, that still could be a bad th-!"

"Gene, lighten up!" Ralph said "It's CHRISTMAS for goodness sake an' what ya SHOULD be doin' is stuffin' your face. Even more than ya usually do!"

"You say that as if I won't eat you…."

"Look Big Guy, there's nothin' ta fret about. Mary's fine! I'm sure there's gonna be OTHER things goin' on that'll take all your focus off any disaster an'-!"

"Whoa, look at this headline!"

"I can't believe he's doin' this!"

"I never would have thought they were a couple!"

The three men turned towards East Niceland, seeing a few people sitting on their stoops and reading the latest edition of the Paper Boy Press. Curiosity got the better of the trio and they soon found themselves walking over.

"Hey, guys." Ralph said with a friendly wave "What's goin' on?"

The characters stopped, their papers moving down once Ralph got near them. One of the group smiled, almost as if they could not hold back their laughter.

"Oh….hey Big Fella. Fancy meetin' ya guys here."

Gene couldn't help but notice that during the greeting, the characters' eyes were fixed on HIM, not the Wrecker above. The chubby man let out a soft snort, slight discomfort hitting him.

"W-Well. *AHEM!* It seems that everyone here is in a good mood."

"OH. WE ARE." said another grinning head, the others turning away as they snickered "Guess it's just this holiday season."

While Felix kept his best about himself not to think the worst, both Ralph and Gene shared their thoughts that something was amiss. The others were far too twitchy once they had arrived and both men could figure it had something to do with them. Ralph played the part of cool head, his hands going in his pocket as he rocked on his heels.

"Tis tha season, INDEED." The big man said "But ya wanna know what this is tha season of also? SHARIN'. So if ya don't mind, could ya SHARE with us what's so funny?"

"Can't we have a LIL privacy?" said another character, giving Ralph a haughty look "I'd think that of all people, YOU'D understand that."

"Yeah, I DO. But pardon me for bein' a lil antsy when tha laughter only INCREASES when WE show-!"

" _ **GIVE ME THAT PAPER!"**_

Ralph and Felix were caught off guard when Gene moved faster than they could, leaping up to take the paper away from the larger character.

"Whoa, nelly!"

The Nicelander began to tug on the paper, finding that the pixels of the thing were far more DURABLE and STRETCHY than he thought.

"Lemme see that thing!"

"You've got money!" protested the character "Buy your own if ya wanna peep!"

"Gene, Gene! Calm down!" Felix shouted, grabbing the man around his waist and pulling him back but Gene hung on with the ferocity of a crocodile refusing to release its prey "Goodness! It's just a paper! Just-!"

"MARY!"

"MARY?!"

Upon hearing the woman's name Felix let go, Gene screaming as he was propelled right into the crowd on the stoop, his heavy and round body knocking them all out of the way like bowling pins, the paper landing softly on his face.

"Aurgh, sorry!" Felix winced, Ralph just standing about in shock.

"…..STRIKE for Felix."

Gene moaned, lifting the paper from his face but a second later her let out a SCREAM, rolling back onto his bottom and grasping onto the front page.

"Sir, what's wrong?!" asked the game's hero "Sir, tell me! What-?!"

"M-M-M-M-MARY!"

"I KNOW that, but what-?!"

"SHE-?! I-!?"

Gene couldn't get the words out, his speech rapidly spilling into a string of high-pitched chittering.

" _ **HEBLEEBLEEMEELPLEEBLEBEEELBELEEE-!"**_

"Mind translatin' Nicelandernese, Felix?" Ralph sighed.

"THE PAPER'S ON MARY!" Gene blurted "I MEAN-! MARY'S THE PAPER! I MEAN-!"

"Spit it out, Big Guy!"

"MARY'S IN THE PAPER!"

"Aaaaand?" said the Wrecker, still not sure to what the Mayor was so panicked about.

"SHE'S WITH ZANGIEF!" Gene shouted, shoving the picture in both Ralph and Felix's view "AN-AN-AND THEY'RE DATING?!"

Ralph felt as if an anvil had been dropped upon his head, the man looking at Gene as if had spoken in Nicelander gibberish one more.

"…..I'm sorry, but WHAT?"

"LOOK!"

Felix and Ralph looked down at the paper once more, the picture there for both to see.

"HA-?! WHAT?!"

 **NICELANDER KNOCK UP!**

 **ZANGIEF HOOKING UP WITH MAYOR'S WIFE?!**

"Can someone reset my eyes or is this real?" the Wrecker said again "ZANGY?!"

"What does it say, what does it say?!" Felix said, trying to read through the lines as best he could.

 _"Reports have come in that resident brawler Zangeif has set his eyes upon the pastel pastry maker of Niceland! The two were seen hanging out at the fighter's home turf, their true intentions not known but from the way things look, perhaps the relationship in Niceland isn't as NICE as we once thought!"_

"M-More on page ten!" Felix said, flipping through the paper. Ralph was still trying to figure out what he had read and seen.

"No, way. There is NO WAY this is real!"

"But it's from the Paper Boy Press!" Felix said "Those guys aren't a tabloid!"

"SO IT'S TRUE!?" asked one of the East Niceland residence, rushing up to Hero and Bad Guy "Is Miss Mary having an AFFAIR?!"

" _ **WHAT?!"**_ shouted Gene the man going pale " _ **WHAT DO YOU MEAN MARY'S HAVING AN AFFAIR?!"**_

"Aw, CRIPES." Ralph said, realizing the crowd was doing little to help with the situation "Gene? Gene! Listen to me, Big Guy!"

"OH LORD OH LORD OH LORD OH LORD OH FFFFFFFF-!"

"GENE!" warned Felix "Don't you dare! NOT A SINGLE-!"

Gene was turning red, the man taking a massive breath, cheeks puffed out and then-!

" _ **BLYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!"**_

" _ **IT STILL COUNTS IF IT'S IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE!"**_


	7. Chapter Six- Inquired

Chapter Six- Inquired

 _ **TORVALD BATTERBUTTER WINS!**_

Torvald cheered with all her heart as she crossed the finish line first, a victory long in the making.

"YES, YES, YES!" she cheered "I did it! I did it! No player control! I did it myself!"

"Way ta go, Sis!" cheered Sticky, the blue racer pulling up next to her younger sister.

"Man, you've been on FIRE!" said Minty, pumping her hands in the air.

 _ **SCRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW-!**_

"Minty, both hands on the wheel!"

The three sisters made their way to the Candlewick Café for a celebratory treat, the trio filled with all sorts of excitement and glee.

"It's almost Christmas, I get a first place win on the roster-!" squealed Torvald "AN' I have another big surprise! This week keeps gettin' better an' better!"

"ANOTHER big surprise?" asked Minty.

"Mind tellin' us?" asked Sticky.

"Heheh, I'm sure ya can wait till Christmas." The youngest triplet winked at her sisters, the other two moaning.

"Oh, c'mooooooooooon!" whined Minty "We gave ya that album! Ya can give us ONE early Christmas present!"

"Ya mean tha album ya called me a STUPID HEAD in?"

"Hey, ya know I meant that in FRIENDLY terms!"

"Well, since it IS Christmas." Torvald said as she looked about "I can give ya SOME details but not too many."

"Please, please, please TELL!" said Sticky, her eyes big and bright.

"Okay." The butter racer said as she gathered her sisters around "Ya know my job?"

"Of course." snorted Minty "Ya haven't shut up about it since ya got it."

"Well, THIS reporter is about ta have their first big story published!"

"WOOOOOW!" said Sticky in awe "What's it about?"

"Could it be about ME an' my coolness?" the eldest triplet said, kissing her muscles "As tha STRONGEST racer around, I think it's high time that someone wrote somethin' on me! All good a'course!"

"No, silly-head!" Torvald said, knocking her sister on the head.

"HEY!"

"It's a CHRISTMAS STORY!" the girl continued "I asked one of tha Nicelanders ta help me spread some cheer an' her story will do just tha thing!"

"A NICELANDER?" said Minty "Are ya serious? What could those lil Weebles give ta ya in a story?"

"Minty, seriously!" Torvald huffed "Yeah, the look silly but they have stories! Stories that are perfect for tha season!"

"Still think an interview with _**ME**_ wudda been perfect for front page material." Scoffed the mint racer, rolliner her eyes "What did this NICELANDER tell ya? Their pie secrets?"

"No." said Torvald "It's….it's somethin'….."

The butter racer only smiled, looking away from her older sisters.

"Ya know that album ya gave me?"

"With as much GLITTER as I have in my eye from Stix decoratin' it-?"

"Think of it like that." Torvald said, her voice and smile warm "I love it. I'll always cherish it because it shows me that ya LOVE me. Tha story? It's like that. It's not 'bout pie or books….but it's somethin' very important ta two people who came a LONG way."

Minty and Sticky were a little confused, looking at their sister become lost in the love.

"Ooooo-KAY." Said Minty "Just don't let this reportin' stuff get to your head. I mean, before ya know it you're gonna be makin' reports about what we do behind closed doors!"

"I'm not that kinda writers." Torvald said, sounding very strong in her tone "Listen, guys. I'm serious about this."

"Oh, boy. Ya got her started, Mintz."

"This job is very important to me. I've wanted ta be a reporter for so long but when everyone found out what we had done with Turbo? How they reacted?" the girl continued "I was scared they would never give me a chance because all they saw was some bully."

The two older siblings stopped, watching the younger go on.

"Remember when Beta attacked?"

"How could we?"

"It showed ta me that as long as people had somethin' to lead on, they would believe it. When Beta pretended to be Vanellope an' spread those rumors around, it felt horrible. It felt like no one would ever believe us again. Even when TURBO came back, people still gave us a hard time and even with that-!"

Torvald stopped, her heart feeling a great warmth inside.

"Even when Turbo came back….I've been scared but I know I can't let him or everyone else scare me from accomplishing me dreams! Vanellope an' Paper Boy gave me a chance an' I wanna show everyone that I AM a great reporter! I am a great writer! An' more than that, I don't need stupid rumor stories to sell papers!"

"So nothin' 'bout how we use special syrup in our cars of things 'bout aliens?"

"Minty, we DO use special syrup in our cars an' there are plenty'a aliens in that arcade."

"But are their aliens in SUGAR RUSH? That's an IMPORTANT question that requires an IMPORTANT answer!"

"I just wanna show that everyone has somethin' good in 'em. That everyone can do something grand, especially durin' tha holidays."

The butter racer was starting to feel more and more into the holiday spirit, Mary's story flashing before her eyes.

"Minty, you'll like the story. Even if ya think tha Nicelanders aren't cool or whatever. I think you'll understand this."

"Eh, whatever." The mint racer said, rolling her eyes "M'just sayin', what kinda story could those kinda NPCs tell ya?"

"Do you NOT remember the calamity that happened when Mr. Mayor was glitched because of a power-up that came from OUR game?" Torvald said.

"NO, I can't forget. Ya did your own lil fake newspaper report on tha whole thing."

"An' it prepped me for this!" Torvald said in pride "By New Year's this is gonna be a whole new place, sis! Litwak will never know what news is until I begin!"

"I'm so glad you're happy!"

Torvald looked down, Sticky smiling so sweetly.

"I'm so glad you've found somethin' ya love ta do." The marshmallow racer said "Just seein' ya so happy like this?"

Sticky let out a little squeal, her younger sister blushing once more.

"I'm really excited ta read this story, Tori! I can't wait!"

"Then I'll pick up a copy for ya." Said the butter racer "Who knows. Maybe if I get famous enough, I'll be able ta get all sorts of perks for us an'-!"

"Hey, Tori!" Candlehead said as she came bounding in from the kitchen "Everyone's been goin' on about today's Paper Boy Press!"

"Thanks, C-Butt!" the racer said as she nudged her sister "See! Someone APPRECIATES my work!"

"It was really shockin'!" said Candlehead, her eyes big. Torvald turned around, not expecting such a word to be used about her story.

"Oh. Well…..maybe it was considerin' what had happened ta tha doll an'-!"

"I never knew Mrs. Mayor Nicelander Mary had a crush on Mr. Zangeif."

Torvald stopped in her tracks "….WHAT?"

"Yeah!" the ditzy racer said as she held the paper before the sisters "Kinda sad though. I really thought that Mr. Mayor Nicelander Gene an' Mrs. Mayor Nicelander Mary were gonna stay married for a long, long forever time!"

The triplets said nothing, looking at the paper that was held before them. There in black and white were the headlines 'MAYORAL NICELANDER CHRISTMAS SPLIT! NICELANDER MARY SEEN FLIRTING WITH STREET FIGHTER BRAWLER!', a photo of the two characters right below it, the image blurry but to the unknowing eye it did indeed look as if the two were on a DATE.

Torvald froze, Torvald shook.

This wasn't her story!

This wasn't her photo!

 _ **THIS WASN'T HER WORK!**_

"Hey-! WAIT!" Torvald said as she took the paper from Candlehead "This-! THIS-!"

"WOOOOOOOOW!" said Minty as she took the paper from Candlehead, reading a few lines to herself "Man, this is some juicy stuff, sis! How did ya manage ta get this outta tha Pie-Baker?"


	8. Chapter Seven- Hot Sheets

Chapter Seven- Hot Sheets

 _I never intended for anyone to get into trouble, I never intended for anyone to get hurt but this how quickly things got out of hand and just how quickly I lost control over it all. Once I read the headline, everything DROPPED. It was as if I had fallen into a nightmare, a bad-end. This was not the type of stories I wanted to write yet there it was. My words rearranged to tell such a horrible tale. Even if my fingers were not the ones to enter the keys, I knew I still had a hand in helping create this chaos, for without my contribution a source would have never been made. Had I taken responsibility then and then and even before that I know many people would have been spared such humiliation._

 _ **GET YOUR PAPER!**_

 _ **HOT OFF THE PRESSES!**_

 _ **LATEST NEWS ALL AROUND!**_

 _ **GET 'EM BEFORE THEY GO!**_

Papers had never flown off the shelves as they had in years at Litwak's, every character from every game racing to get the newest edition. In no time at all people were chattering about the latest developments, the latest scandal and the latest RUMOR.

"So she left him for Zangeif? Heh, better choice!"

"I guess she DOES like bigger men!"

"Well, did you see how she acted when tha Mayor was gigantored?"

"What does he see in that little kruft?"

"He must have a thing for balls."

All around the arcade people were talking about the newest headlines of Mary and Zangeif but unknown to them…..

* * *

"Ya mind tellin' us what THIS is about?!"

"OOW! CHUN-LI!"

The big Russian as at the MERCY of the Chinese fighter, her sharp nails pinching his ear something terrible.

"Why you so mean to Zangeif?! It is CHRISTMAS!"

"IT'S THE TENTH!"

"Whoa, off'a him, Chunners." Honda said as he pulled the woman from the cowering wrestler "Perhaps if you DIDN'T kill him before he could speak-?"

"Oh, FINE." The fighter huffed "What were ya gonna say?"

"NO! You attack Zangy?! Zangy no longer tell!"

"DARN IT, YOU OVERGROWN-!"

"Does this hafta do with all this stuff 'bout Zangy goin' out with a Nicelander?" Sakura said, holding up the paper.

"PPPFT! W-Wait! W-What?!"

Everyone turned, Ryu folded over in LAUGHTER at what he just heard.

"Dude, this isn't funny." said Ken, eyes darting around the room as the others glared at the two.

"I-I'm sorry-!" the fighter inhaled, trying to find his composure "B-But-! Z-Z-Zangy?! AN' A NICELANDER?! _**BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA-AURGH!"**_

With one swift kick to the face, Ryu was sent down, Chun-Li wiping her hands.

"NOW. Maybe we can get some information out." The woman said, turning her sights back upon Zangif, the man still looking as if he were ready to be slaughtered "EXPLAIN."

"What can Zangeif explain?!" the man shouted "Zangeif have no clue how picture get in paper! Zangeif not even know when picture taken!"

"You're wearin' that STUPID reindeer band Mori gave ya." Chun-Li said, Dan looking around cautiously.

" _SHH! She has ears EVERYWHERE!"_

"So it had ta be recent."

"But Zangeif tell truth! Not know when picture taken, not know what headline even mean!"

"Then why would this be front page news?" Bison asked, the only calm head out of the bunch. Ken leaned on the man, rubbing his fingers together.

"Eh, Bison. I love ya man but sometimes, ya are a lil naïve ta tha all mighty dollar. Specially when it comes ta news."

And indeed Ken was right as the story of the report spread faster than a hungry virus on fresh code and it wasn't as if it were ONE paper.

The Paper Boy Press had only released a FLOOD of articles on all the newspapers in the arcade. If a game had a news station, it copied the report, adding in whatever 'spice' they felt added to the sales.

 **FIGHTER AND NICELANDER TAKE A VOW!**

 **TROUBLE IN FIX-IT-FELIX JR! MAYOR AND BAKER TO SPLIT!**

 **NICELANDER MARY TO HAVE ZANGEIF'S BABY!**

 **ARE FELIX AND CALHOUN THE NEXT TO SPLIT!**

And if things were that bad in print-

"It's still going?!" Mary gasped in shock, looking at the latest paper that had been handed to her "Why is this happening?! Who's writing these articles?!"

"Everyone is, ma'am!" Felix said in anguish "Even TAMMY'S game got into it! Look at this!"

Hero's Duty News Online

Disaster at Niceland. Couple caught cheating, no codes needed.

Calhoun kept herself turned against a wall, shaking her head "Even my men….EVEN MY MEN?!"

"Oooooh, this is an EMBARRASSMENT..." Mary said in shame, holding her head down "We've been through a lot of things, a lot of rumors but THIS?! How-?!"

The woman became so flustered, so angry in that moment, her little hands ripping the TABLET in two.

"WHOA, HEY!" shouted Calhoun, her broken device falling onto the floor "Good night, Miss Mary! I know you're angry but that wasn't a paper!"

"I'll fix it, hun."

"I'm going to get to the bottom of this!" the little woman fumed as she marched off towards the stairs "As soon as I find who the culprit is of this, I will-!"

"Oh, no! You're not goin' ANYWHERE!" Felix said, scooping Mary up in his arms but the woman fight back.

"Let me go, young man!" Mary protested, her little legs kicking "There are time when a Nicelander has to do things on her own and this is one of them!"

"Not with the way those sharks are lookin' for anythin' ta bite." Felix said, putting the woman back on the ground but holding her shoulders down with his hands "I know what they're up ta. Tha moment they catch ya and get ya ta say ANYTHIN' they're gonna twist your words more than a pretzel factory! They're gonna show ya no mercy!"

"Well, I'll return the favor!" Mary huffed "They've poked around with ME and my husband long enough! I'm not going to stand for it anymore!"

"Um, should we be worried?" asked Calhoun, looking at her broken tablet "I mean, if she could do THIS, imagine what she could do to another PERSON."

"TAMERA."

"Wait, a second." Ralph said, looking around "Where's….where's Gene?"

The others looked about, finally realizing that a head was missing.

"Are ya tellin' us we missed somethin' that FAT an' BLUE that wasn't Don?" Lucy said, the sailor glaring daggers at her.

"You're lucky it's Christmas, KID."

"Shut up Don, I'm Jewish."

Unbeknownst to the group Gene had covered far more ground than any delivery boy.

* * *

"GOTTA GET THOSE PAPERS! GOTTA GET THOSE PAPERS!"

It was Gene's SIXTH run down through the arcade, the man visiting every game he could to find and DESTROY any paper that gave way to the article. He had been through every swamp, every sewer, every desert to reach a news stand but no matter what he did, no matter where he went those horrible pictures and words seemed to follow him.

" _ **NYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!"**_

What the little man didn't know was that a RACER shared his fears and his worries.

"Vanellope, STOP THE PRESSES!"

" _ **AUUURGH!"**_

Torvald BURST into the throne room, Vanellope glitching out of the chair and landing on the floor.

"Well…I guess I should be glad ya didn't do this when I was one the OTHER throne…."

"We've gotta stop our papers!" the butterscotch racer said "If they're tryin' to run that story from Paper Boy, TELL 'EM TA STOP!"

"Tori…."

"How could a headline like that get through-?! ANY PAPER?! They shudda known somethin' funny was up-!"

"Tori."

"An' how can we get rid of 'em?! Should we make a bon fire?! Yes! YES! That'll-!"

"TORVALD!"

The girl yelped, turning around to look at the stunned President behind her.

"Just what in tha ho-hos is goin' on?!"

Torvald had her inklings, her had her guesses but given just how quickly things had turned-?

"I…."

Something stopped her. The words froze in the racer's throat, fear quickly overtaking her. She then realized just how grave the situation had become, just how LARGE it had escalated in such a short span of time. What if this were something SO BIG that no matter what anyone did, there was no fixing it?

"Vanellope?"

"Look, don't think I'm tryin' ta pin things on ya…." The vanilla racer began "But bein' tha top scribe here, ya hafta have SOME clue. Ralphie called me an' he's tellin' me both Mary an' Gene have gone BONKERS!"

"Th-they have?" whimpered the butter racer.

"Yeah! Mary's actin' as if she wants ta break someone in half an' Genie?"

The vanilla racer stopped, tapping her foot on the ground.

"No one knows where he's gone off to."

"YA MEAN HE'S MISSIN'?!" Torvald shouted, things going from bad to worse.

"Wait, wait, wait! Don't blow your top so fast!" Vanellope said, trying her best to calm the girl down.

"We HAFTA stop our presses!" Torvald blurted "If every other paper here is just COPYIN' tha headlines I know we're doin' the same thing! There's gotta be an end ta this!"

"But Tori…."

The girl turned, Vanellope looked bewildered.

"Ya know our presses haven't been in order since Turbo bit it!"

Torvald felt as if she had come face-first into a wall; of course! The Sugar Rush Sentinel hadn't been in circulation in AGES.

"But…" the girl thought back, her head feeling hot as the memories started to flood back again "Oh my gobs! Not only that! Tha only time it came into use RECENTLY was-!"

"BETA."

The two girls looked at each other, the very name making them shiver as much as Turbo's.

"Butter-fried biscuits. Beta tried using tha Sentinel to run those stories on US!" Torvald continued.

"An' when we finally beat him, I just….I just had the whole place stopped."

"I…I didn't even notice." Torvald said, her voice dropping "Was….was I really that busy to-?"

"I'm sorry, but tha place has too many bad memories for me." Vanellope said "Since we got here, it's never been used for good. Turbo used it ta print things on me an' then when I get snatched again, Beta used it against YA. It's like a bad luck FACTORY."

"So we've musta gotta flood from other games." Torvald said "Ooooh, that makes things even HARDER now! I won't be able to stop the source if there are so many of 'em!"

"Um, just what's this about?" asked Vanellope "I get you're upset that your new job is passin' out gossip like this but from tha sound of things…."

Torvald blanched, Vanellope's curiosity getting a might too close for comfort.

"Er! Never mind that!" the yellow racer said "Right now, I gotta find a way ta stop all'a this!"

"Tori, WAIT!" Vanellope cried out as the girl FLEW from the castle doors "Do ya need help? I'd be happy ta-!"

 **TOO LATE.**

The little candy racer was in far deeper trouble than she had thought as EVERY press in the arcade was running with the story, each headline getting more and more scandalous. Torvald stood in the middle of the station, looking around at the crowds as they huddled their faces deep within the pages of the newspapers.

Even if she denied it, even if she tried to push herself away from it….

This was all her fault.

The story only came about because of her own work and even if some of the words were skewed, even if the outcome was different….

She knew she was the source, the origin.

It was HER fault that all of this had happened.

"Oh, no…." she moaned, her body lowering on the ground "What have ya done."

 _BRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP!_

Torvald heard the little chirp of her phone, a shaking hand reaching into her purse.

Paper Boy.

Oh, no.

She gulped, slowly raising the phone to her ear "H-H-Hello?"

" _Torvald?!"_

The lead head of the paper sounded FURIOUS, the girl nearly dropping the phone on the ground.

"Y-Yes, s-?"

" _Get to the office, NOW!"_ Paper Boy said on the other end _"We need to have a discussion, NOW!"_


	9. Chapter Eight- Rocky Roads

Chapter Eight – Rocky Roads

 _I had hit a crossroad once Paper Boy had contacted me and I knew the worst was yet to come. I feared that I had been found out, that everything had been traced back to me and soon I would lose the very dream that I had been so kindly given. I couldn't face Paper Boy, I just didn't know what to do but it seemed my body and brain acted opposite of each other. Before I knew it, I was back at the office, surrounded by my co-workers and seeing the look of disappointment and anger on my boss' face._

"What IS this?!"

The group of reporters ducked from their boss' anger, Paper Boy's rage a sight to see.

"C'mon, don't tell me EVERYONE'S lost their sound boxes!"

"Um, I can tell ya ONE thing…" said a female reporter "Papers have never sold as fast as this. Not since Litwak had that one month he tried sellin' BEER here!"

" _ **CAN WE FORGET ABOUT THAT FOR A MOMENT!?"**_ Paper Boy shouted, slamming the paper down on his desk "WHO in their endless an' CRAZY mind managed to sneak this out?! HUH?!"

The group looked at each other, everyone as confused as the rest but one character stood out among the others.

Torvald Batterbutters.

She continued to huddle, to shake in complete fear to what could happen should she tell the truth of what had happened. She may not have TYPED the story herself but it was HER words that had led to it, her actions that paved the way for the events that were now playing throughout the arcade.

Had she actually listened to Paper Boy and waited, perhaps none of this would be happening.

"There's no siggy on the story?" asked another male reporter, taking the paper and seeing it for himself "That alone raises a lot of questions!"

"Oooh, stuff like this always happens when Mom calls me away!" the boy said, pacing about the office.

"As crazy as this is, P.B, we can say this."

"Are ya implyin' there's somethin' good in all'a this?"

"At least didn't make an issue after this? I mean, the other papers are the ones continuing this so-"

" _ **BUT PEOPLE KNOW WE'RE THE ONES WHO STARTED THIS!**_ " the boy shouted "Who's the first place people are gonna think of when they go 'Oh! 'Member where we heard someone was flirtin' with someone else? PAPER BOY!"

"Dude. Settle it, okay?"

"This is no time to 'settle'!" the frustrated character said "Right now, we need to do some major cleaning up. First, I'M the one who has to make a public apology for what's happened."

"Oh, P.B. This wasn't your fault!"

"But it happened under my watch….I mean, I-!"

The boy breathed in trying to regain himself.

"It happened on my watch when I wasn't watchin' because mom is still MY boss!" the boy sighed "An' if I DON'T make an apology she's gonna have MY butt!"

"An' then-?"

"Then?" the boss continued "Then I'm gonna find who wrote this piece an' toss 'im further than any paper I've thrown!"

"P.B!"

"You're serious?!"

"YES!" the boy shouted again "An' this isn't 'bout me tryin' to cover for reputation or anything! Guys, we got people in TROUBLE over this!"

Upon hearing the word 'trouble' Torvald felt herself jump again; if Paper Boy were to find out SHE had partaken in this mess….

"I tried to talk to Felix over this an' the whole apartments are upside down! Chun-Li wants my HEAD over this an'-!"

He stopped, his head swamped with the details of everything. He knew he had to focus, if only to ensure that the rest of his team would stay alert and on task.

"Whoever is responsible for this…." The boy growled through his teeth "They're not only gonna hafta answer to ME but IMMEDIATE TERMINATION!"

"IMMEDIATE?"

" **IMMEDIATE!"**

Torvald nearly burst into tears before the group, knowing that her punishment was inevitable. Sooner or later everyone would trace the story back to HER and it was only a matter of time that not only would she lose her JOB but the entire arcade would once more see her as a failure.

She did not want this to happen again but it was looming over her, the dark clouds slowly swallowing her up.

"P.B."

A voice caught the girl, her head looking up to see Geist standing before all, looking calm and collected.

"If you're looking for the culprit…."

NO!

"I know who it was."

"Well, spit it out then!" said Paper Boy, rushing towards the character "The sooner we get this over with, the better!"

"It was…." The ghostly character began, Torvald seeing his eyes slide towards her.

This was it.

This was the end.

"It was a prankster." Geist said.

Once more the office went silent, the rather VAGUE description laid out before them.

"A PRANKSTER?" Paper Boy said, his eyebrow twitching in annoyance "Is that SERIOUSLY the best description you have?!"

"I say that because I remember overhearing some NPCs from another game talking about pulling some sort of 'Holiday heist'."

"You've GOTTA be kiddin' me…."

"No, just hear me out." The tall character said "I really didn't think anything of it. I mean, they were tiny NPCs. Who would?"

"YO."

Geist looked over his shoulders, a group of NPCs glowering at him menacingly. The lead of the bunch, a character as tall as he was, marched over and placed a VERY FIRM hand on his shoulder.

"Look, Geist." The character began "You're a cool guy n' all but don't try to pin this crap on NPCs. We get enough garbage from people claimin' we don't mean anythin' to our games-"

"I'm only speaking what I know." Said the ghostly figure "And of course this is no offense towards you but they were NPCs claiming to make some sort of prank or something."

"But one, how did they get in and two what game were they from?"

"To answer you second question, I could not tell. They were too far away and like I said, I just listened to their whispers. I didn't take it seriously."

Torvald could only watch in silenced AWE at what she was hearing. Geist was spinning a tale alright and for every question that was thrown his way he was able to counter it in a cool and collected manner. She knew in an instant he was covering for her but the reason she wanted to know was WHY? Why in the arcade would he cover for HER of all people?

Could it be?

He didn't want her to take the blame?

"You know how things are since we upgraded some of our equipment." Geist continued "And you know we've had a few hiccups here and there with it."

"So?" asked Paper Boy, slowly coming down from his anger but also feeling a twinge of worry as it seemed even HE knew what was coming "What are you-?"

"Someone could have easily gotten into our files, switched them AFTER we printed a few copies of the ACTUAL paper and then had the fake prints sent out."

"Is it possible?" asked another employee, Geist nodding his head.

"Yes, it is very much possible. And once OUR copies were out I assume that the rest of the arcade wanted to follow suit with their own outlets, trying to get some attention and numbers with a scathing headline like that."

" _ **AUUUUUUUUUUURGH!"**_ growled Paper Boy, screaming into his hands "Another slip up! ANOTHER!"

"You can't blame yourself for this, P.B."

"You don't understand, Geist! As tha lead around here, I'M supposed to make sure that things run smoothly an' we don't have incidents like this!" the boy said "This isn't just a simple case of a misspelled word of a missin' picture! You've all seen what _**DAMAGE**_ that headline has caused an' it's only SPREADIN'!"

The boy slammed a fist on his desk, going silent for a moment before turning back to the others.

"My plans are still a-go. I issue an apology, we make sure that NO ONE can get into our system again, an' we try ta find a way to get those other papers to stop!"

"Yeah right! Like that's gonna be easy!"

"I DIDN'T SAY IT WAS!"

The office once more jolted at Paper Boy's anger, surprised no one else had heard him shout.

"I didn't say this was gonna be easy but we gotta do it anyway." He said, his voice lowering "Now everyone?"

Silence.

"Let's get back to work."

Slowly but surely the office began to run again but Torvald hid in her cubby, far too scared to say a word. She watched Geist, the character floating through his door to his office.

She had to talk to him.

She had to know what he was doing,

Making certain that no one paid her mind, the sweet racer tip-toed over to the office, knocking on the door.

" _Come in."_

The knob was turned, and Torvald was inside.

"Ah, Batterbutters." Geist said with a smile as he sat at his desk "What brings you here."

"Why?"

"Excuse me."

"Why did ya save me like that?" the girl said, desperation in her eyes "Why….why did ya make a fib like that?!"

Geist seemed surprised by the girl's words, the older character blinking at the little racer but then…

"Heh…"

A chuckle.

"There's no need to be so upset, young lady…." The character said, going through some papers on his desk "Everything will be back to normal soon enough. I mean, in terms of your work. I have a feeling that we're going to be busy for a while."

"Geist, tell me!" the racer demanded "This doesn't feel right! It's one thing to COVER for me but that whole story ya made up! Tha NPCS? Somethin' 'bout 'em sneakin' in? If word gets out on THAT, there's gonna be a riot on who-!"

"I am aware of that…." The character said.

"Then why did you-?"

"You know….Tarvold."

Tarvold again.

"For someone who is so keen on being a reporter, I am quite surprised at how….MEEK you can be when it comes to grabbing headlines."

The girl felt her skin cover in goosebumps at the man's words, the office going cold and dark.

"I told you before, the best way to sell a story is with some spice. With some bite. And is that not what was delivered?"

"W-What?! NO!" the girl protested "That's-! That's not what my story was about! That's not what I wanted!"

"And it wasn't what the arcade wanted EITHER."

"HOW DO YA KNOW THAT?!" the girls shouted but the room was so sealed that no one on the outside could hear her screams "It was just supposed ta be a story for CHRISTMAS! Not all'a this! What was wrong with what I had?!"

"I've been workin' at this place since before your game was plugged in….."

Torvald opened her eyes, gazing upon the TERRIFYING figure of Geist in his ghostly form, light glowing from his body but his eyes looked so dark and empty. His presence surrounded her, making it feel as if there was no escape even if the door was right behind her. He had gone from GHOST HUNTER to full on GHOST, the true power and form of the character shown to her.

"I've been workin' at this paper for YEARS and I've known how to get my GHOST WRITINGS through. It's the only thing that's kept people interested in this stupid rag."

"N-No…NO." Torvald shivered "P-People love this paper! They love it because-!"

" _ **BECAUSE OF THOSE LITTLE BITS I'VE MANAGED TO GET IN**_!" the ghost shouted, slamming his hands on the walls, making the girl cry out in shock "Do you think that snot-nosed delivery boy knows how things work?! DO YA?!"

"Geist! STOP!"

"The best news isn't the type of sappy junk made for feeble-minded NPCs or saccharine fueled heroes. _**NOBODY CARES ABOUT THAT JUNK!**_ " the ghost continued "What's brought people in year after year is the knowing that somewhere, there's someone who is more muffed up than they are and even with their own dumb little lives, a story like that allows 'em to laugh at someone else's misfortune, even for just a bit. Stories on BAD GUYS used ta get in lots but since the arcade went SOFT on me, I've had to improvise. Thankfully, everyone still share their thoughts that NPCs are perfectly acceptable targets."

The racer slid down to the floor, shivering "So…so all this time. All this time, ya never thought-?"

"That your story was any good?" the ghost smirked "It was good."

Torvald felt her heart flutter, some of the fear going away much to even her own surprise.

"Really?"

"Yeah…." The Ghost continued "It was a good START."

Start?

"Reading that drag? It inspired me to create what everyone now knows and the best part of it all wasn't so much watching that Vodka-fueled wrestler an' jabberin' Weebles lose their heads about it."

Torvald could not believe what she was hearing. There was no way in the arcade that this character felt that he could get away with treating people like this.

"The best part was watching all the other outlets trying to best us with whatever headline they could go on." The ghost continued "It's somethin' ya gotta learn, KID."

"W-what do you-?"

"Reporting isn't sunshine and candy, Tot. It's always dog-eat-dog for the best stories, the biggest headlines, and the most readers and now'a days? It doesn't matter if the final word is true or not. You have to get 'em in the FIRST time and after that? Let the players sort'em out!"

" _ **THIS IS WRONG!"**_ Torvald shouted, Geist looking down at her in surprise " _ **THIS IS WRONG AND YOU KNOW IT!"**_

"I've been getting away with it for this long…."

"But not anymore!" the girl said, fire welling up inside of her as she took ahold of the knob "Once I tell Paper Boy-!"

"Once you tell him WHAT?" the ghost said in a smooth tone "Once you tell him YOU"RE the one who wrote the article?"

"I have PROOF that the story didn't start out that way!"

"But you let it go on for HOW long? You let it get out of control this badly?"

"I didn't do this!" Torvald said "I DIDN'T DO THIS! I DIDN'T DO THIS!"

"Your hands are red, like ink from the presses." Geist said as he slammed his hands on the door, preventing the racer from escaping "It's your story, it's your mess!"

"YOU STOLE MY STORY!" Torvald shouted again "YOU STOLE MY STORY! YOU TWISTED MY WORDS!"

"They'll never believe you."

The girl looked up, Geist's smile looking more horrifying than ever.

"Do you even KNOW how low your reputation is here, BULLY?"

Bully.

That word.

The word that Torvald hated.

Because it had been used many times to describe HER.

"Do you HONESTLY think that P.B. let you on this crew because of your TALENT? Because of your skill?"

The words were trapped in Torvald's throat, Geist seeing that he had caught her right where he wanted.

"Don't think we haven't seen you're resumes and sample flying through here, month after month. Year after year. Awww, all that effort but no reply? Why do you think that is, sweetie?"

Once again, silence.

"We knew you were trouble from the start. One of Turbo's little snots and we didn't want you on the team. No one in the arcade wanted you."

Torvald's heart was breaking like brittle, eyes widening as the words poured from Geist's mouth.

She knew it.

She knew it was too good to be true.

"We would all laugh when we saw your little papers coming in because we knew it would never happen. But then Vanellope comes in, talking all sweet like to P.B about hiring ya. He caves and lets you onto the team because he can't say now to a President."

So there it was.

Paper Boy HAD only let her on because of Vanellope.

If it weren't for Vanellope, she wouldn't have gotten anywhere.

They hated her.

They didn't want her.

"But hey, go right ahead and tell P.B the truth. See what he does." The character continued "Shall I get your box ready for your things before you leave now?"

Torvald didn't know what to do. If she screamed no one would hear her, if she cried Geist would only prod her more.

She was trapped.

She was helpless.

She was EMPTY.

"So what's it gonna be, Tar?" Geist said, a frown appearing on his face "You gonna keep quiet like a good lil brat or are ya gonna tell? Are ya gonna tell and lose it all?"

He finally opened the door, the flood of office noises finally returning to the girl. She looked back, so many people busy away trying to regain themselves after the chaos that had happened.

She looked and felt awful, she felt surrounded by people who only saw her as a burden, who for so many months only put up a smile around her because of Paper Boy and Vanellope.

These were not her friends.

These were not her co-workers.

They didn't want her.

Nobody wanted her.

"I'm waiting."

Torvald didn't even return her gaze towards the character, getting up and slowly walking from the office. He watched her, the pathway taking her past Paper Boy's office but rather than going to him as she had threatened….

She walked past the office instead.

"Heh. Good girl."

The Christmas cheer that had filled Torvald's heart was now gone, her entire body feeling empty and weak. She didn't even return to her desk, instead allowing her feet to carry her right out of the game and into the station. She could hear the sounds of the hawkers trying to sell their papers, more outlandish headlines going through the arcade and they had only appeared as such thanks to her.

Christmas was ruined because of her.

All of this was happening because of her.

The crowds in the station didn't even notice the girl as she walked by, the only figure around without a paper in hand. Their laugher faded, their gabbing hollow and muted. She wanted to get away but where could she go? Even in Sugar Rush she knew the same thing would happen, that the candy people inside would be reading the latest news to come in from the wire.

She went to the entrance of the game's tram but she didn't get into the trolley. Instead, she walked around the corner and slid onto the ground, surrounded by darkness but the sounds of the crowds continued.

She wanted it to stop.

She wanted things to go back to the way they were.

She cried.

That was all she could do.


	10. Chapter Nine – Be Brave

Chapter Nine – Be Brave

 _Had I not gone back, had I not told myself to go I would have never known what was really happening. I finally saw just how much pain those words had caused them but it was because of that I knew what I had to do to CORRECT it._

The days were counting down to Christmas yet the holly-jolly joy was long gone.

Now everyone wanted to know of the latest scandal, the latest rumor, the latest news of what was cooking up in the arcade. Everyone was in the grips of the madness but the very target of the stories was still reeling from the very story it wished to rid itself from.

The game day may have gone on like the norm to the players outside, but inside? Inside, things were MISERABLE. The group tried their best to play face for the gamers but had the quarter-chuckles noticed, one head was missing.

 **GENE**.

The Mayor of the establishment had not shown his chubby face for a worrisome amount of time, leaving not only Ralph and Felix a WRECK but someone far more important to the man; his little wife, Mary.

"Two days." Mary moaned as she leaned on the sill, feeling far too exhausted to even go another round "HE'S BEEN GONE FOR TWO DAYS!"

"This is not good, this is not good!" Felix paced about, Mary turning around to glare at him.

"AS IF I DON'T KNOW THAT!" the little woman yelled, making the Hero jump back "My husband is missing, more of these stupid papers are going out-!"

Mary tried to brace herself, filled with a type of anger she had not felt for such a long time but as she looked at Felix….

She folded.

She weakened.

He could see the child-like sadness coming over her, eyes growing larger, lip quivering….

She wanted her husband.

"Oh, Mary."

"I want Gene!" the Nicelander cried, rushing over to Felix and holding him tight. Her tears were flowing, Felix kneeling down to hug her tight.

"There, there." He sighed, trying his best to assure his friend "Please don't worry, ma'am. Please don't."

"H-how-?! H-how can I NOT!" the little woman sniffled, feeling so foolish for crying in such a manner "You know how things are out there for us! We don't HAVE powers to defend ourselves when things get tough and Gene went out there by himself?! Even at his worst he's never left us this long!"

"I know, I know!" Felix said, looking nervous "I'll-! I'll try to get in contact with someone! Maybe Tammy can send out her boys ta look for him!"

"Yes, PLEASE!" Mary begged, her hands clasped together "Please, find him! He might not last any longer out there!"

"Any word?" Ralph said, bounding down the hall with Vanellope in tow.

"No." Felix said, shaking his head "I'm gonna call Tammy out on this one. If we let him out there by himself any longer, who knows what trouble he could get himself into! An' it's not like people would tell us if somethin' DID happen!"

This fact only made Mary feel worse, the woman struggling on whether to feel sad or ANGRY. She was still very much peeved at how the arcade had behaved at the false headlines about Zangeif and herself and with Gene's sudden disappearance it didn't make things any better.

"Why, why, why does this always happen?"

"Poop-heads!" Vanellope growled, trying her best to throw around some weak swearing "When I get my hands on 'em, they're gonna hafta deal with President Von Schweetz! NO ONE messes with Miss Mary durin' Christmas!"

"Kid, don't even start." Ralph growled, rolling his eyes.

"I'm serious! BIG TIME, Ralphie!" the girl said, wrapping her arms around the pink Nicelander "We made it through Genezilla, we're gonna make it through this!"

"Thank you, dear." Mary moaned once more, wiping her eyes "I know I should be more mature than this on such matters but….but-"

The Nicelander paused again, finding that her words were failing her. She was usually the one who tried to stay on top, the one who tried to keep a bright face in any situation but there was just something so horrid about this that broke her down. Even if she had been through various trials herself perhaps what hurt the most was just how gleefully some people in the arcade were enjoying the thoughts of her marriage being broken up. Even AFTER what had happened to both Nicelanders during the infamous Power-Up fiasco, the arcade had learned NOTHING. The moment they saw an opening to say something and attack, they did and they did it without qualms.

Mary knew this, she knew this PAINFULLY well and she should have known better than to allow herself to behave in such a way but there was far more to it.

She had her reasons for everything and deep down she felt that even if she were to tell the truth of it all, the arcade would refuse to listen. They only wanted to believe what was more entertaining to them, what fed into their ideas of how things should be.

Mary knew the truth of the situation but the truth would be refused.

"Fart-brained jerks, they're gonna pay for this!" Vanellope said again "They came after Mary, an' they came after Tori too!"

"Tori?" Ralph asked "Ya mean Torvald, right?"

"Who else!?" the girl shouted "Ya shudda seen her! She was so worried a few days ago, askin' me where we got out papers from 'cuz we're reportin' tha same thing!"

Ralph stopped for a moment, a thought coming to him.

"Say kid."

"Yeah?"

"Ya don't think….SHE had anythin' ta do with this, do ya?"

Vanellope's eyes nearly popped out of her head "RALPH!"

"Hey, hey! I'm just-!"

" _ **I KNOW TORI DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHIN' TA DO WITH THIS!"**_ Vanellope shouted, very much angry at the Wrecker "I know she writes weird things sometimes an' I still don't know what friend fiction is-! But Torvald would NEVER, EVER, EVER stoop this low!"

Had Vanellope know….

That a certain racer had just arrived at the apartments and was now hiding around the corner.

Torvald froze in her place, racked with fear to Vanellope's words but for reasons quite surprising. Mary knew her secret, that she was the one who wrote the story but to hear Vanellope say such POSITIVE things about her even in the face of so much madness.

Even after everything that Torvald had partaken in years prior, Vanellope still had something good to say about her. Vanellope was DEFENDING her!

And yet there Torvald was, far too afraid to say anything more.

"Okay, sorry I brought it up." Ralph sighed "I just…well…."

"Yeah, what is it?" the vanilla racer said, hands on her hips.

"I don't want ya ta think I don't trust her."

"You've already made it kinda clear ya don't!"

"No, please don't do this!" Mary said as she stepped between the two "I don't want any more fighting here! PLEASE!"

"Sorry, Mary-Berry, but I HAFTA say somethin'!" Vanellope said again "No one wants any more rumors comin' in? Well, I'm stoppin' on right now! Torvald wasn't responsible for this!"

"HE'S BACK!"

The three quickly turned towards the window, Don pointing outside.

"Donald?"

"I see Felix and Calhoun!" the sailor said "And Gene is with them!"

"GENE?!"

Mary tore off down the hall like a speeding hedgehog, those on the top floor left in the dust. Outside, Felix followed close in the footsteps of his wife, the Marine carrying the haggard Mayor over her shoulder.

"Good NIGHT!" the woman said "He weighs as much as Marky!"

"At least YOU can lift 'im!" Felix said "He gains like two-hundred pounds when he's in this kinda state!"

"Gene!"

The man let out a moan, Mary and the others running out of the apartments to greet the trio.

"Oh goodness, where did you find him?!"

"Near the cords." Calhoun said, walking past the group and heading towards the apartments.

"The CORDS?!" Ralph gasped "What in tha arcade brought him THAT far?!"

"Ya wouldn't believe it…" Calhoun continued, walking into the atrium and putting the tired Mayor down on the couch "But he was tryin' ta THROW piles of paper into tha void. He was that DESPERATE ta get rid of 'em!"

"Um….isn't that a massive fire hazard?" asked Kal.

"YES."

"Oh, HONEY!" Mary cried as she wrapped her arms around the tired form of her husband "Why would you do a thing like this to yourself?! WHY?!"

" _Because it's the same as always…."_

The gravely tone of Gene's voice was enough to surprise everyone, Mary looking down as she had not expected the man to get up so quickly.

"Gene?"

"I've been in EVERY game…." The man began, his voice slurring "EVERY. EV-VER-EEEEE game…..an' I still didn't get alla 'em."

"All of WHAT?" asked Felix.

"Those STUUUUUPID papers!" the man said again, feeling dizzy.

"Can I just say this is possibly tha THIRD worst I've seen Gene?" Calhoun said.

"Nah, he always gets like this if he doesn't have a four-course meal every hour." Chimed Lucy.

"LUCILE, I SWEAR TO GOD-"

"Sir, don't stress yourself out." Felix warned "You're in bad enough shape right now so lemme just fix-"

"They can't lay it off, can they?"

"Excuse me, sir?"

"They just can't STOP, can they?" Gene said, heaving in exhaustion, putting an arm over his head "It's god damn CHRISTMAS and they can't stop trying to throw us under the bus, can't they?"

"Aw, CRAP." Nel said, grabbing Norwood by the hand and dragging him away "I know this isn't gonna end well."

"Sir, I'm warnin' ya…."

"Every paper I saw, the same terrible story but with new words." The Mayor continued "I felt like I was losin' my mind out there! People laughing and chucklin' at me, watching me as I went after every paper to try to destroy those headlines but it doesn't matter! It doesn't matter if its in print, word of mouth, on a computer-! All they know is how to laugh! _**HOW TO LAUGH AT ME! HOW TO LAUGH AT US! HOW TO LAUGH AT MY WIFE!"**_

"Should I give 'im a tranq shot?" Calhoun asked, Felix rubbing his brow.

"I said no durin' tha Power-Ups, I'm sayin' NO now!"

"Genie, listen up." Said Ralph "Those stupid papers don't mean a thing! I know they're not true!"

"It doesn't matter whether or not YOU think something is true, Ralph! What MATTERS is whether or not something is EMBARRASSING enough at OUR EXPENSE for them to laugh at! If anything mattered don't you think other papers wouldn't have tried to emulate that story?!"

Torvald continued to hide in the apartment, listening to the argument continue.

"We cudda taken care'a this!" Ralph told the Nicelander angrily "There was no reason for ya ta just run away like that, especially when ya-!"

"CAN'T DO ANYTHING?"

Ralph stopped, Gene eyeing him.

"That's what you were going to say, right young man? That we can't do anything?"

"….Well."

"But you're right. WE CAN'T do anything about this!"

"Gene!"

A wave of weakness came over the Mayor again, his body flopping on the cushions as he moaned.

"Ya know, I thought after nearly DYING the first time, I'd gain something from all of this." He wheezed "But it ain't happenin'. Not today, not ever."

"Aw, c'mon Mayor!"

"Felix, if you ever wondered WHY I had all those moments where I told you I wanted to just unplug myself. NOW YOU KNOW WHY."

Everyone in the room felt the abject discomfort of what Gene had said, such a confession stunning even Calhoun.

Merry Christmas.

"Now you-!"

Gene felt his body quake in pain but he managed to turn over and look at his angered wife.

"M-Mary?"

"You cannot tell me for a moment you're going to give up to this! Not to this-! These-! PIN FEATHERED PEA BRAINS!"

"What?" asked a confused Vanellope.

"Mary has as much of a skill for cursin' as Felix does." Whispered Calhoun "Which is ta say NONE AT ALL."

"Mary, please…" the Mayor begged "I'm tired, I'm sick…..I don't know what to do anymore."

"Considering what you put yourself through, I'd be surprised if you weren't!" Mary said, crossing her arms "But there is no way I am going to even ALLOW you to wallow in the dumps, especially not because of these fools!"

"Us?" Roy pointed to himself.

"NO! Not YOU guys! Those guys with the papers!"

"Um, we ALL saw the papers and-!"

" _ **YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN-!"**_

Torvald peaked her head around the corner, trying to get a better ear-in to what was happening but unknown to her, someone else had already spotted her.

"Huh?"

Vanellope looked to the side, seeing a shiny yellow OBJECT glimmering in the darkness, it's shape hard to forget.

"I know you're upset. I was upset too…." Mary continued, Vanellope slowly inching her way towards the corner "But…."

Gene looked at Mary with such pathetic eyes; he just wanted to know if what he was doing was any help. That if there was ANYTHING he could do to make things better. Mary could sense it coming from him, reminding her all too well of the very thing that had caused HER to run off to begin with. She took Gene's cheeks in her hand, smushing them.

"Gene?"

"Hmm?"

"Blueberry?"

"Meef?"

"I'm sorry I've been so secretive about so much." The woman said, her voice soft and warm "I am so sorry but I've had my reasons to do so. I wanted to keep things under wraps until it was ready, until it was ready for the both of us."

The others stood around, watching the soap-opera unfold. Suddenly, a beep came upon Calhoun's tablet, the woman looking down.

 **HEADLINES!**

 **MAYOR OF NICELAND ON VERGE OF END?!**

How in the arcade-?!

The woman scowled as she looked around, feeling that many were near. She pulled out a gun, heading back outside.

"Hold on for a sec…."

"Gene, please look at me."

The man had no choice, what with Mary holding his cheeks out.

"Dearth?"

"I want to ask you now." She continued "All those headlines…..did you believe them?"

Gene stopped, his cheeks starting to blush.

"Please, honey. Please tell me the truth. Did you believe I could even think about leaving you?"

Gene?

Tell her the truth!

Tell her the TRUTH!

The man realized what he had done, how much trouble he had caused for everyone but most of, the very woman he loved so much, the one he held so dear. She looked hurt, pained in so many ways but most of all because she had not gotten his answer.

Did he believe her?

Did he believe anything she said?

"Yes."

"WHAT?"

"No!" the man said, taking Mary's hands off of his face "I mean-! No! I didn't believe them! Yes, I knew you were telling me the truth!"

Mary's eyes brightened "Really?"

"Yes!"

"REALLY?!"

"YES!"

Before Mary could do anything, GENE was the one who leapt upon her and knocked her back on her bottom, all eyes watching them crash.

"ARRRK!"

BOOM!

"Yes, of course I believe you dear!" Gene said, Mary now lifted off the ground as he wrapped around her in a massive hug "Why do you think I went out of my way to destroy those papers? To save my giant blue butt?! NO! I was trying to get rid of them so people didn't think YOU were lying!"

Mary, unable to escape the galump, simply smiled and allowed Gene to take her in with all his warmth.

"Big Blueberry Baby…."

 _ **BLAM BLAM BLAM!**_

 _ **AUUUURGH! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!**_

 _ **WHAT DO YOU THINK?!**_

 _ **BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM!**_

The Nicelanders looked out towards the windows, the sounds of screams and gunfire filling the air.

"….What was that?"

Felix kicked then door close, ushering the others UPSTAIRS and OUT OF RANGE.

"NOTHIN'. LET'S GO."

"Is Calhouny shooting a PHOTOGRAPHER?" asked Pearl.

 _ **BLAM!**_

" _ **NEXT TIME! KEEP YOUR NOSE OUTTA OUR BUSINESS AN' MAYBE I WON'T SHOOT YOUR STUFF!"**_

With the Niceland residence out of sight, Torvald knew she could make her move.

"Boo."

"AAAAH!"

Caught.

"Vanellope!" the butter girl cried, seeing the vanilla racer standing behind her "When-?!"

"When Genie was spillin' his guts an' before Calhoun began her shootin' spree." Vanellope said "When did YOU get here?"

Torvald moaned, sliding down on the wall "I don't know what to do…."

"About WHAT?" asked the other girl, joining her on the floor "You've been actin' all weird for days an' now-?"

Now it was obvious that Torvald had known more than she had let on, especially with the way she was looking at the candy President. More and more worry filled both girls, Vanellope fearful that her words towards Ralph may have been incorrect. But still, she had to ask. She had to know.

"Tori?"

"I never wanted to hurt them….." the girl began "But everythin' got out of control!"

Torvald buried her face in her hands, showing Vanellope just how upset she was. She fidgeted, uncertain how to handle the situation considering how wild it had become but in the midst of it all Vanellope knew she had one big responsibility to take on.

She had to listen.

Not joke.

Not snark.

LISTEN.

She put her arm around Torvald, keeping her mind calm "Tori?"

"Y-Yeah?"

"Tell me everythin'. Once ya do, maybe we can clear all'a this up."

"If I do…." The racer began "If I do, they'll kick me out."

"WHO will?"

"PAPER BOY!" Torvald shouted "If he finds out what I did, he'll-!"

The girl paused as another wave of anguish hit her, sobbing loudly in her hands.

"Tori, Tori! It's okay!" Vanellope said, now more worried than ever "Don't cry! Please don't cry!"

"They never believed in me!"

"Wh-who didn't?"

"Tha guys at Paper Boy's!" Torvald continued "They DID only let me on because of ya! If ya hadn't said anything they would have just kept ignoring me because-! Because I'm still a stupid bully to them-!"

"But P.B told me-!"

"He told ya wrong, then!" shouted the butter racer "All this time, I thought I was a good writer! That I could change an' do somethin' good but look at what happened! My story gets out an'-! I cause so much pain an' rumors an' once everyone finds out they're gonna be super-duper mad at me an'-!"

"HOLD THA PHONE!" Vanellope shouted "Aurhg, I can't take in so much at once! My brain is gonna explode!"

"I let them use me." Torvald said "My story? Tha one I wanted ta write with Mary? He stole it from me. He re-wrote it an' he did it because he knew none of us could do anythin'…."

"Torvald…." Vanellope said "Are….are ya being BLACKMAILED?"

Yes.

Yes, she was.

Torvald was aware of the horrible truth but she just could not find the strength to utter those terrible words. Vanellope on the other hand felt just as betrayed as her friend; she was certain that Paper Boy had given her his word, that his interest on Torvald had only come from what she could bring, NOT whether or not he could impress the candy President but after what Torvald had said, she was no longer sure.

It was all so confusing, far too much to take in at once and all Vanellope knew was that once again the racers were being used. Perhaps not for arcade conquest but the mere idea that Torvald's life long dream was now the very thing being used to ensnare her made Vanellope's stomach ache.

"Tori…." The girl said, still in disbelief "I-! I can't believe this is happenin'! I trusted those guys! I thought-!"

"I thought they were good." Torvald said, sniffling "I thought I found some friends that I could trust but-"

Trust.

Trust was a word that many of the racers, keeping their feelings from Vanellope, now no longer felt. Their TRUST had been broken many times before even if their part of the incident had long been ignored by the rest of the arcade. Torvald had confided to no one but herself her own worries if there would ever be anyone outside of Sugar Rush she could trust and create a bound with and in Paper Boy, she THOUGHT she had found it, only to have Geist strip it away from her.

But…

Mary.

Nicelander Mary.

Torvald had stayed around for the entire conversation and not ONCE did the Nicelander mention to her husband WHO she had gone to first to even tell the original tale.

Geist had THREATENED to rat Torvald out should she confess to allowing him to 'improve' the story.

Mary on the other hand….

Mary had given her trust to Torvald and through it all she did not blame her for the factious papers. Mary had AMPLE chances to but given that Torvald had not gotten into trouble nor Vanellope had come to her earlier, demanding to know what had happened, it could have meant only one thing.

Mary didn't blame Torvald.

The Nicelander may have kept mum about it but perhaps, maybe she knew. She KNEW that Torvald wouldn't do such a thing after collecting the story.

Mary TRUSTED Torvald with her story.

And she still trusted her for some strange reason.

That's when Torvald knew it, that's when she felt it. She hadn't been betrayed, she still had many she could trust and in the most unlikely of places.

"Tori?"

The girl knew what she had to do and she had to do it fast; she had to clean up the mess she had caused.

"Vanellope?"

"Yeah?"

"We need ta go home!"

Sometime later, Torvald threw open the doors of the old Sugar Rush Sentinel. Cobwebs and dust littered the building but the press was right there, ready for use.

"Guys…."

The butter-themed racer turned, the other Sugar Rush racers behind and all without a clue as to what was about to happen.

"Tori, why are we here?" asked Minty "With everythin' that's goin' on, I'm a lil burnt out on papers."

"A newspaper may have started all of this…" the yellow racer said bravely as she stepped into the huge printing room, flicking on the lights "But a paper is what's gonna clean it up!"

It was now time for Torvald's headline, the girl ready.

"Okay, I need help getting this printer up an' ready!" the girl ordered "Swizz! Minty! You're on it!"

"Huh? I never signed up for any'a this!" said Minty but her hand was quickly grabbed by Swizzle.

"No talk, just work!"

"Gloyd, Sakura! You're my artist! Get some Christmas stuff together! Make it look festive an' bright!"

"Um, okay BOSS." Gloyd smirked, Sakura shrugging her shoulders in confusion.

"Snowanna! You, Beezie an' Nougie handle tha ink works!"

"Sure?"

"Rancy! You're my reference guy! I need ya ta fetch me some Christmas books!"

"Uh...which ones?"

"ALL OF 'EM!" the girl ordered "Juju and Cissy! Find an' load up tha paper rolls!"

"Yeeeaaa! Dangerous work!" Jubileena cheered, pulling her terrified twin with her.

"Candlehead! Taffyta! You're gonna be my drivers so when this paper is done, you're gonna hit tha road like never before at get these things out!"

"Does this mean we don't hafta obey traffic laws?!" asked Candlehead.

"NOPE!"

"BEST! JOB! _**EVER!**_ "

"An' Sticky!"

"Yeah, sis!"

"There's tons of bugs here. Round 'em up so no one gets all scared n' stuff!"

Sticky saluted her sister, pulling a bug-catcher's net from her person "OKAY!"

"An' what about me?" asked Vanellope, feeling a little left out without a job. Torvald simply grinned, pulling the President near the head office.

"You're gonna help me write." Torvald said "We've had plenty of fluff. Now we're gonna give this arcade some news it REALLY needs!"


	11. Chapter Ten- Special Delivery

Chapter Ten- Special Delivery

 _I knew this was what I had to do to correct my mistakes. I am thankful that my friends helped me in this endeavor for without them I don't think I would have accomplished so much in such a short amount of time. Watching them go about along with me reminded me how far we had come, since those terrible days under Turbo's tyrannical rule to now. Now were working together in ways that Turbo had prevented us, or had used in a terrible way, to right the wrongs that I had foolishly and carelessly began. I was determined to correct my mistakes and my friends were there to support me._

Surge woke up at five-thirty on the dot in his suite overlooking the massive station. He yawned and stretched, prepping himself for the day. A shower, fresh clothes, and a cup of coffee were ready but the moment he stepped outside-

FWOOOOSH!

 _ **AUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURGH!**_

A cloud of glitter struck the man where he stood, his scream accompanied by the smashing sound of porcelain as his mug dropped to the ground.

"WHAT IN THE ARCADE-?!"

The tantalizing and unforgettable scent of GINGERBREAD hit his nose but he had not cooked anything that required the ingredient nor had he purchased anything either. Slowly and cautiously he exited his living quarters…..

"Oh….dear….PROGRAMMERS."

To be greeted with a sight most unexpected.

The entire station had been transformed overnight, the small Christmas decorations replaced with BIGGER, BRIGHTER, and BOMBASTIC set ups. There wasn't a pole nor stand that was left uncovered, the familiar red and white candy-cane stripes wrapped around everywhere as small trees and wreaths were strung about. Rainbow Christmas lights blinked and glowed, small patches of powdered sugar snow drafting down from the rafters.

Surge had to slap himself **TWICE** to assure himself that he was indeed not dreaming, that all of this was real.

"How did-?!"

Soon others began to venture outside, transfixed by how the station had become a winter wonderland.

"Is this real snow?" asked a character, its partner running out into the main floor with its mouth open.

"It's SUGAR!"

"SUGAR?!"

"These candy canes. They're REAL! They're ENORMOUS!"

"Is someone playing music?"

Even the intercom had been hijacked, the sweet sounds of a sugary singer serenading away to the season. The glowing protector was lost for words, his mind only going to who to punish for trashing the station while he slept.

"When I find out who did this-" he growled "In game suspension! NO! IN GAME ARREST! NO! TWENTY YEARS, NO VENTURES OUT-!"

"HO HO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The screeching of tires echoed across the halls, Pink Lightening leading the charge with several of Taffyta's candy cheerleaders hanging onto the kart but most importantly, NEWSPAPERS.

NEWSPAPERS?

"Fresh off the presses!" smiled the girl, her candy people jumping off and handing out the crisp sheets "Holiday edition, get 'em before their gone!"

"Miss Muttonfudge!"

The girl turned, Surge marching up to her in anger.

"What is the meaning of this, y9oung lady!" the man shouted, stamping hisfoot on the ground "If you're responsible for this, do you know how many code regulations you have just broken?"

The strawberry racer only smirked, trilling her fingers on the door of her kart "C'mon, Surge. Can't ya take a break? It's CHRISTMAS!"

"I can be Light Day for all I care! This is uncalled for! This is unsightly! This is-!"

" _ **THIS IS CHRISTMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS!"**_

The man shouted again as Candlehead barreled through with her own candy peeps, the girl missing the protector by inches.

"Don't be such a GRUMP, Surge!" the candle-headed racer smiled from ear to ear "Enjoy tha holiday cheer!"

"But-! I-!"

Before another word could be said, the two girls drove off, more and more people gathering around to gaze upon the candy-coated Christmas setting.

Woooow!

This is AMAZING!

It's so pretty!

Look at all this snow!

Surge looked about to his left, to his right; nothing made sense! In frustration he let out a growl and slammed a hand on his forehead.

"What I wouldn't give to be transferred to Pomona!"

And the adventure did not end there. The other racers soon joined in as well, the gaggle of candy characters going from one game to the next to give out their special deliveries.

Papers.

Torvald and Vanellope stood in the middle of the excitement, watching as the other patrons quickly opened up their editions and looked on.

"WE have their attention." Said Vanellope "Now what?"

Torvald held one of the papers in her hands, looking towards a certain game.

"Now? Now I have one more house to go to."

….

"Did everyone sleep better tonight?" asked Felix as Calhoun and Ralph gathered around the tiny community kitchen.

"I didn't hear Genie yellin' last night…" Ralph said with a smirk "So I take it things were peaceful."

"YES. Let's put it like that."

The three turned, Mary approaching them in her robe and slippers and looking very tired indeed.

"Whao." Said Calhoun "I take it things got a lil ROUGH?"

"You have many things to learn about Mayor Blueberry butt." The Nicelander said with a groan, her focus set on the strong coffee that was brewing on the counter "I managed to calm him down but only after he ate about three pies, a slice of chocolate cake and THEN sleeping like the dead all the while refusing to let me go….for TEN HOURS."

"Awww, but it's love!" Ralph said with a flutter of his eye lashes, Felix hitting him hard on the side.

"I'm just glad it's an off day." The Nicelander continued "That way I don't have to drag his giant butt out of the bed."

"Bet he's buried in blankets…." Calhoun snickered "One layer after another."

"Tammy, stop."

"It's like one of those Russian dolls." Ralph joined in "Boop, boop, boop! One blanket, another blanket! Oh, final layer! Grumpy Mayor!"

"OH!"

Mary let out a gasp, dropping the coffee onto the floor.

"OH NO!"

"Ma'am, what is it?" Felix asked, leaping over to reach the woman who was now jittering on her feet.

"I forgot, I forgot, I forgot!"

"Ya forgot WHAT?!"

The woman in pink placed her hands over her mouth, eyes wide; in all the calamity, in all the confusion! She had forgotten IT….

"Oh no, no, no, no! What do I do?! I cannot go out there like this!"

"Mary, what's goin' on?" asked Ralph, joining Felix beside the woman, seeing her blush so brightly.

"AH! It's-! I mean-!"

The woman looked about frantically before running as fast as she could towards the elevator.

"Mary!"

"I'll explain later! I need to go before I get sp-!"

The door shut, taking the woman to the top floor and leaving the three heroes in confusion. What had they missed THIS time?

"Felix!"

Hearing his name called, the Repairman went to the stairs to see Meg greeting him.

"Meggy?"

"Look outside!" the shy Nicelander said, pointing towards the window "The entire lawn has been decorated!"

"Tha LAWN?"

And that's when he saw it, the winter wonderland that had been delivered while they slept.

"Sweet Jiminy CHRISTMAS!"

"Yeah, that'll do it." Agreed Calhoun.

The residence of East Niceland had already begun their festivities, many of them playing in the makeshift snow banks and enjoying the candy decorations around them. It didn't take a second for Ralph to put together WHO had done such a thing but his only question was 'WHY'?

Meanwhile at the trolley, Vanellope and Torvald finally arrived in Niceland and were greeted by the sight of the characters playing about, a good sign indeed.

"They're taking this well." Said Torvald "But right now, we need to-!"

"Ooooh, please out of the way!"

The girls looked forward, seeing a rather untidy figure rushing in front of them, a coat haphazardly slung around her.

Mary!

"There she is!" said Torvald with a smile, rushing towards the woman "Miss Mary! MISS MARY!"

"Tori, wait!" Vanellope warned "I don't think-!"

Torvald was far too excited to stop now, taking the little woman by her arm before she could get away.

"Miss Mary, thank goodness I've run into ya!"

"No, please let go!" the woman begged "I have to get to Street Fighter before-!"

"Wait, this'll only take a second!" the racer said, holding up the newspaper "I need you to read this! It's everythin' we talked abo-!"

"But if I don't get there by the time those reporters show up-!"

"Torvald, let her go!" Vanellope warned again, seeing that the bunch were heading for trouble already "Uh-! Ya might be goin' a bit TOO fast for-!"

"Missus Nicelander Mary!"

A thick Russian accent rang in the ears of the three, all eyeing a big BURLY man walking up to the apartments….

And he was still wearing the reindeer headband.

"ZANGEIF!"

"Uh, Zangeif bring present." The big man said, holding the tiny wrapped box in his hands "Missus Nicelander Mary forget when she visit and now-!"

And now-!

"THERE HE IS!"

Camera flashes went off, the onslaught of reporters already up and armed to take down the latest 'info' they could grab.

"Oh no, not again!" Felix said, going out to the lawn in an attempt to push the masses back but as he was but one man, he was no match for them 'Hey, hey, HEEEEY! Back off!"

"I knew we'd catch 'em!" said one reporter.

"Is this gift for your mistress?! Have you tied the knot officially?!"

"Hey, ya jerks!" Vanellope growled, putting an arm between herself and Mary "Stop with that jabberin'! You're only gonna make things worse!"

"What?! Zangeif so confused!" the big man said, swamped by the reporters "Who leaving what now?! Where I go?!"

"I KNEW IT WAS TRUE!"

"I want the first interview!"

"When is the wedding?!"

It was happening again, Torvald bearing witness to the madness that could happen when rumors were spread but this time she was ready. This time she was not going to let herself become cornered by those so hungry for scandal.

"Hey, motor-mouths!" the girl said in a powerful tone "That story you're chasin'? It was all some GHOST tale! Ya were lead up tha wrong road!"

"But it has to be true!" said one of the reporters angrily "This news is too hot not to be!"

"Sorry, but that's the way the gingerbread cookie crumbles." The butter racer said matter-of-factly 'So less ya wanna get STOMPED by both Mr. Ralph an' Mr. Zangeif, I'd think that-!"

"Don't try ta play so innocent, SISTER!" said one of the reporters.

"Hey, the only person who can call me SISTER ARE mys SISTERS!" the candy racer shot back.

"Geist told us ya were the one who started this story!"

And with that announcement the entire game went silent; Geist had told.

"Oh, no." Vanellope meeped to herself in worry as she glitched forward "Guest-! Gust….Gus….Um, Mr. G fibbed! He fibbed HARD on ya! Tori didn't start that-!"

"Her interview with Miss Mary!" the reporter continued "They were in Sugar Rush discussin' that doll that Zangeif had helped make!"

"Doll?" Felix said in confusion "WHAT doll?"

"Please, Zangeif still so confused…." The man said, scratching his head "Is this Christmas tradition I not know of or-?"

"It's that package!" cried someone from the crowd.

"GET IT!"

"NO!" Mary shouted in horror as she leapt forward "Don't you DARE put your hands on this!"

"It's Zangeif's wedding gift, I know it is!"

"No, I bet it's something even BETTER!"

A fight had broken out for the package, everyone swamping EVERYONE in order to get it.

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA!" cried Ralph as he attempted to jump in "Everyone back off or AUUUUUURGH!"

Soon he too was buried as the package flew from the hands of the Russian wrestler and flew through the air, hopping from one hand to the other as it danced about on finger tips.

"Please! Someone get it!" Mary wailed "Don't let it break! It's fragile!"

I GOT IT!

NO, ME!

ME!

ME!

The fever of confusion only continued as people became lost in who they were with and what they were trying to do, the package still bouncing overhead.

"Vanellope!" shouted Torvald, the girl knowing what she needed to do.

GLITCH!

The vanilla racer tried to glitch to the top of the pile but the package seemed to out bounce her, going from one direction to the next.

"Get back here!"

"Don't let it drop!"

"AAAAH! What is goin' on?!"

" _Mmm, what?"_

As if things could not get anymore jumbled…

Gene groggily walked down the steps, hearing the calamity from the suite

"W-What's going-?"

"MAYOR GENE!"

Still a little exhausted and in need of sleep, the Nicelander did not notice the Russian wrestler waving towards him in desperation.

Not for one second.

Not for two seconds.

But then….

"HO!" the man gasped, jumping on his feet "What the-?!"

And then he noticed the massive fight that was happening right in front of him, Mary caught in the tangle as she rolled out from the folds.

"DEAR!" the man shouted, Mary getting back on her feet and hopping about.

"Will there EVER be a time when the madness will END?!"

Vanellope finally managed to get her hands around the package, giving a victory cry as she did so.

"Ho-HA!"

But someone else reached out to get her, taking her ponytail in their grasp and pulling her down. She let out a pain yelp, falling over into the masses again as the package flew through the air-!

"NO!"

And with a bounce….it landed at Gene's feet. Seeing that the object had finally escaped their grasp, the fight came to a halt, all eyes looking at the Mayor who was gazing down at the rough-upped package, a corner of it torn open to reveal something inside. Mary felt her breath escape her, petrified that the object inside had been broken but slowly Gene reached down and picked the present up. It was if the man could see something familiar inside, the shiny surface showing through and….

"…..Is this-?"


	12. Chapter Eleven- The Story

Chapter Eleven- The Story

On the day of the interview

"Okay, Miss Mary!" said Torvald as she sat excited on her seat "Tell me everythin'!"

"I will dear, I will…" the little woman said "But when you finalize this, don't put in too much! This has to be a surprise for Gene."

"Doly noted." The girl said with a nod, her notebook and pens ready.

"Alright. Let's begin…."

* * *

 _I know it may seem funny that certain characters like us hold onto backstories, but when you're an NPC with so little power, who so many people looked down upon, those backstories become important. They become important because they give us a sense of IDENTITY. Our creators gave them to us for a reason, to have our own lives even if the actions we do in our game aren't as exciting as those of a Hero or a Bad Guy. For me, there are many backstories that I HAVE to remember, both good and BAD…and this Christmas? This Christmas I wanted to change something BAD I had done in the past, in one of my backstories._

 _Long ago when I was younger...the Mayor and I were not as close as one would think. I am sure there are many out there who believe that the Mayor and I have always been in love, that we have always had our hearts out for one another but that has never been the case. Back then, back when I was a much SMALLER Nicelander, I was a terror. I was a terror to GENE. It embarrasses me but saying the truth all these years later, for many reasons, shows me how much I have grown and just how much Gene means to me. But back then, I wanted him gone. He arrived to the original apartments as a surprise, the new baby that was taking all the attention away from ME and I wouldn't have it. I didn't want the 'runt' as I called him near me and every chance I got, I made certain that he remembered who was in charge, who was bigger. It was from these moments where I am certain that Gene developed his dislike and hatred for people like Ralph, people who he felt would overpower him with their strength and size as I had done so to him for so long._

 _I guess you can say that due to my bullying of him, it led Gene to hate Ralph._

 _But he tolerated me. Even though I knew I could get a rise out of Gene, he always TOLERATED me and it bothered me because I was not getting the reaction I wanted. But Gene tolerated a lot of things in his youth as there was someone in his life who was much harder on them than I; his father. The ORIGINAL Mayor when Felix Sr. was the hero. We were all scared of him but Gene had to deal with him far more than we did and I remember those days seeing and hearing the old Mayor yelling at Gene through the walls, even at the shortest of things. I always wondered to myself if the old Mayor even LOVED Gene but I kept myself out of that business. What I did know however is that every Christmas back in our youth, family would come for the Mayor from, as they put it in our story, 'the old country'. And it was the only time of the year I saw Gene so happy._

 _CHRISTMAS TIME was Gene's time because it was a bit of an escape for him. His mother would allow him to cook as he had always loved to do and his grandmother would come. My own mother made certain that I didn't disturb them but I could sometimes hear them, hear them talking in a language I did not know but every year there was a pattern. Since the day Gene was born, his grandmother would come and bring him those dolls. Those little wooden dolls._

 _And he loved them._

 _He had gotten one the day he was born and every year he got a new one._

 _But then one year, grandmother didn't come._

 _It was a particularly hard Christmas that year for the entire family and I could see it in the way that Gene carried himself. Still though, I was far too concerned with bothering him. I still wanted to ruffle him, to see him get mad and yell. I had no restraints because I was older, because I could get away with it._

 _Because I was a bully._

 _That year I came into the family's apartment, playing around with Gene's wooden dolls. He got mad which was what I wanted him to do. I threatened to mix them up, to hide the tiny ones in places he could not find but the one I touched, the last one he had gotten from his grandmother? I simply put my fingers on its painted frame and he lost it. He yelled at me, telling me to put it back, that no one was allowed to touch it but I did not stop. I did not know what they meant, only that they were Gene's and I could use them to mess with him. We continued to rough-house around the apartment and I didn't think too much of it. I didn't think things would go so far._

 _But then…._

 _I dropped it._

 _I fell._

 _I could feel it snapping as I tumbled down onto the ground, the thing landing on the hard kitchen floor. The wood splintered and broke and the tiny wooden doll in the very center of the doll was all that remained. Gene looked DEVASTATED but he did not speak. I couldn't speak either because I didn't expect things to turn so badly so quickly. Suddenly, after all these years of being so mean and cruel to Gene I found myself begging him to forgive me. I kept saying sorry so many times that I did not know it myself. It was like I was caught in a trance and I could not stop. I didn't want this to happen, I didn't want it to break._

 _But Gene?_

 _He said nothing._

 _He heard his father coming and he hid me in his room. When the old Mayor came back he found the doll broken and he was quick to blame Gene for the entire thing. Gene tried to defend himself, he said it was an accident and for a moment I thought he was going to confess and just tell his father what I had done. I was in utter shock as I watched the Mayor tear into his son like that. I had never seen anything like it and for a moment, just for a moment, I thought about coming out and telling the truth myself but the old Mayor's anger SCARED me. I had never seen him so angry, the things he told Gene. He told Gene how PATHETIC and CARELESS he was over and over, I could see Gene slipping at each moment but still he faced his father and took the punishment for an action I had caused._

 _And then…._

 _He slapped him._

 _Just seeing that, seeing Gene take it like that? I never knew what was really going on. The old Mayor left and Gene returned. To this day I don't know if he thought I had watched or not but I could see the mark on his face. He remained so cold, so ridged to what had happened as he opened the door and let me out. After that he didn't say another word and neither did I. No one in the apartment aside from the two of us knew the truth._

 _You might be asking yourself, then why does he love you?_

 _To this day, I don't know._

 _But I do know why I love HIM._

 _Even after all of that, after what I had done….he never turned me away. I had bullied him his entire childhood but he never told. He never pushed me away._

 _And one day, one day when I lost someone so close to me..._

 _He came to me and mourned with me._

 _At that time I was certain that I had no friends in the apartment; that my meanness had kept them all away. I knew what they called me and at the time I didn't care but on that day, I felt so scared and alone. Gene came to me though. Even after all I had done to him, he came to me and held me tight. He told me he would never leave me on that day._

 _And I knew he was telling the truth._

 _He brought be back with the others, he helped me find the friends that I thought I had chased away._

 _That's why I wanted to make this nesting doll._

 _Because after so many years, I never knew how to really pay him back other than to replace one of the things he held so close that I had broken. It may seem just like a thing to you and maybe it is….but I understood how much they meant because these things were from one of the few people who really understood and loved Gene. I had broken it, but I wanted to remake it._

 _I wanted to FIX it._

* * *

Gene held the matryoshka in shaking hands, the man biting his lips as he felt his eyes welling up.

"You….you made this?"

Despite feeling brave at first to show the man, Mary was now too bashful to move but the man let out a small laugh, dropping down as he shut his eyes tight.

"Y-You went through all of this….for me?"

Mary finally got up and walked towards her husband, the man laughing and crying in joy at the same time.

"O-Oh, programmers." He said, his voice shaking but it was shaking more with love than with sadness. He fell into his wife's arms, soft laughter buried in the nape of her neck "Oh, Mary. Oh, sweet bratty Mary."

"Wait. That's it?" Ralph asked before turning to Zangeif "Then why-?"

 _"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-!"_

Now big Russian was crying, his eyes spilling over with tears as he wiped one away.

"This remind Zangeif of homeland!" the big man bawled "Little blue Mayor understand!"

Sometime later things were finally settled down, the group of heroes and the extra little racer converging to Felix's apartment.

"So that's the reason why Mary was in Street Fighter!" the repairman in blue said with a smile "She wanted ta know how ta make those dolls by HAND so she went ta Zangeif for help!"

"Yup!" said Torvald "That was the part I couldn't tell because it would have spoiled the surprise. The thing is though she was so unused to handlin' those tools that she kept gettin' hurt."

"An' she would come back here with injured hands." Said Calhoun "All this craziness for a little doll. I just don't get it."

"I do." Ralph said "It may be a hunk'a wood ta some people but for Gene? For Mary? It means so much more an' I believe tha Big Guy is gonna have a special place for that thing."

Indeed he did. The special matryoshka now sat in the middle of Gene's collection on the mantle. It may not have looked as fancy, as shiny or as well done as the others he had but the meaning behind it was the most important part. He knew the person who had made it loved him and that was all he could ever want for Christmas. The chubby man now rested on the couch, sound asleep and wrapped up in many quilts as the enormous round—up had worn him out. Mary sat beside him, a cup of tea held in her hands.

"Merry Christmas, Baby Blueberry."


	13. Finale

Finale

"I'm sorry for everything that happened." Said the little racer.

"Nah, it's fine." Said Paper Boy "I'm just glad we got this taken care of as quickly as we did."

"But it's still my fault." The girl said "I let my excitement get the better of me an' before I knew it…Bwoooosh! So much drama."

"It happens in the world of news." The boy said, crossing his arms "But I want ya ta know one thing, kiddo."

"Ah-huh?"

"I really did bring ya on because of your skills. Don't think for a second that I held a grudge over ya because of what happened when Turbo was runnin' your game. Ya have tha right spunk for this type'a biz."

"Thanks." Torvald said, blushing from head to toe "That means a lot ta me."

"But what happened that that Guy-Gas-Gus-Ghost guy?" asked Vanellope, Ralph nodding his head.

"Yeah, where is that trouble-maker?"

"Well, before these guys turned this place into a winter wonderland, they actually hit me up first."

"Oh?"

"Yeah!" smiled Paper Boy "Tori told me everythin' an' then I relayed tha info ta my mom an'….well."

The other three waited to hear the results, Paper Boy grinning.

"Ya guys won't hafta worry 'bout him GHOST WRITIN' anythin' else."

It was only a few days before Christmas and yet the best gift had already been given to Torvald, a great weight lifted off of her once she realized how wonderful it was to have done such a good deed.

"By tha way, when can we expect ya back?"

"I don't know if Tori will have tha time." Vanellope said smugly as she stepped forward "We had a talk an' we thought it was high times that tha Sugar Rush Sentinel goes back inta print. With Tori bein' our leadin' editor, of course!"

"Oh, I'll have plenty'a time with Paper Boy too!"

Vanellope blinked, surprised by what she had heard "Uh, Torvald?"

"Yeah?"

"Um, isn't this tha time where you're supposed ta go 'Oh, but my game needs me more!' an' ya come back ta us? That's how it works in tha movies!"

"Are ya kiddin'? I LOVED workin' at tha Paper Boy Press an' I'll still work as a CONTRIBUTOR!"

"A CONTRIBUTOR?" said Ralph.

"Yeah, we're gonna revamp a few things and start a new section." Said the news boy "Startin' next year, we'll have correspondents from EVERY GAME, new and old, to report on special interest! It'll really connect tha games together, don't ya think?"

Ralph and Vanellope looked at each other, a little caught off guard but after a few moments….

They smiled as well.

"Haha! Guess we have a rather excitin' year ta look forward to, huh?"

"You bet Vanellope!" Torvald said happily "But right now? I think I just wanna sit back an' enjoy tha holidays. Don't ya think?"

Vanellope and Ralph looked about the station, finally feeling that Christmas cheer that they had so been longing for.

"Yeah, Tori." Vanellope said, putting her arm around the girl and hugging her "That's great."


End file.
